A Stravinsky Celebration!

Its finally here! The Fall Show, "A Stravinsky Celebration", is this weekend!!!!! The department has kicked into high gear trying to get everything ready. All the pieces in the show have been spaced on the stage and tonight is the first dress rehearsal. We can't wait to share all our hard work with you and get the chance to do what we love, perform. Come out and support us on Saturday at 2 and 7 and Sunday at 2 in the Mary D'Angelo Performing Arts Center on the Mercyhurst College Campus in Erie, PA!

"Ginger Rogers did everything Fred Astaire did, but she did it backwards and in high heels." ~anonymous

Show Week!!!!!!

Its officially show week in the danceSpace which means its the busiest week of the term for everyone involved in the show! We are all working extremely hard to bring you a wonderful evening of dance to the dynamic and exciting music of Stravinsky.

The Mercyhurst Dancers will present A Stravinsky Celebration, Saturday, October 30 at 2:00 pm and 7:00 pm and Sunday, October 31 at 2:00 pm at the Mary D’Angelo Performing Arts Center on the Mercyhurst College campus in Erie, PA. Stravinsky’s Firebird celebrates 100 years. This Russian folk tale of a magical glowing bird that is both a blessing and a curse to its captor completes a program of Stravinsky favorites, Pulcinella Suite and The Rite of Spring with just a bit of a twist. In addition a new work by choreographer, Randy James, Closing the Glass Door will premiere. A lecture presented by Assistant Professor, Christine Marie Hay on the composer Igor Stravinsky: His Impact on Dance, will precede the Sunday performance at 1:00 pm in Zurn 114, adjacent to the Mary D’Angelo Performing Arts Center.

Tickets range from $5.00 - $15.50 and can be purchased by calling (814) 824-3000

Another Fall Day in the danceSpace

Hi Everyone! Its another lovely fall day here on the Mercyhurst campus and everyone is continuing to work hard with the department show, A Stravinsky Celebration, right around the corner. It is October 30th at 2 and 7 and the 31st at 2 in the Mary D'Angelo Performing Arts Center at Mercyhurst College.

In other department news, the Choreography I class are working diligently on their group pieces. It is part of the degree program for the sophomores to take Choreogaphy I and from there the majors have the option to continue on through Choreography II, III and IV. It is always exciting to see new choreographic talent within the department.

Our outreach team is also busy working on a show to take to elementary schools and assisted living facilities. It is very important to the department as well as to the college to perform community service and this is a great way for the dance majors to do that! The show will feature choreography by senior, Sarah Mastrolcola among other student choreographers!

"It's what I always wanted to do, to show the laughter, the fun the joy of dance." ~Martha Graham

Back to School Again

Hello All! Fall break is officially over and everyone has returned to the department well rested and ready to work.

With the fall show, A Stravinsky Celebration, coming up so fast that has become the main focus in the danceSpace. The performance, which is Halloween weekend, will include Stravinsky's Firebird, Rite of Spring, and Pulcinella as well as a piece entitled Closing the Glass Door by Randy James. Everyone is working their hardest to make sure the performance is spectacular!

In other exciting news, our students who went to the Project Dance convention is Sydney Australia have returned! Keep your eyes open for a guest blog by senior Christine Wilbur about her experience!

Yesterday we had our last group of high school students auditioning for the department until January. They all seemed to have a good time and enjoy both the department and the campus and hopefully we will be seeing some of them again next fall as new freshmen!

"If dancing were any easier it would be called football." - anonymous

Fall Break!

Its officially Fall Break here at Mercyhurst which means that there are no classes until Monday! Needless to say things are really quiet here in the danceSpace.

We are getting ready for our final round of high school students that would like to audition for the department until January. Its going to be a full house this coming monday as basically all the slots for this audition have been filled up. Everyone is very excited to share our little piece of the Mercyhurst world with potential students.

Corbindances will be at the Mary D'Angelo Performing Arts Center this saturday! They will also be giving a master class for dance majors before their performance saturday which is quite exciting!!!

Otherwise this week has been pretty quiet in the space. Rehearsals for the fall show, A Stravinsky Celebration, are really getting down to the wire but everything seems to be coming together nicely! We can't wait to share all our hard work with you all!

"Dance is your pulse, your heartbeat, your breathing. It's the rhythm of your life. It's the expression in time and movement, in happiness, joy, sadness and envy." ~Jaques D'ambroise

Australia Update!

We have an update on our international travelers!!!!

Everyone arrived in Australia has arrived okay and are extremely excited to be in the land down under! They are even going to meet up with some Mercyhurst Dance Department alumni while there, Laura Hearn, Aisha Jasper and Danielle Feller who's cruise ship will be docking in Australia while they are there! Mercyhurst Dancers are everywhere!

Its a sunshiny day!

Hello Everyone!

Its finally a nice sunny day here at Mercyhurst and as a result everyone is in a happy mood! Midterms are almost over which means some major relaxation time for everyone this weekend.

Exciting news, the signup for the American College Dance Festival Conference has gone up and this year Mercyhurst will be going to the conference held in Allentown, PA at Muhlenberg College. The pieces that the department will take have not been chosen yet but it is certain that ballet will be represented at it's finest.

Also, the weekend of the 16th Corbindances will be coming to Mercyhurst and performing in the Mary D'Angelo Performing Arts Center. They have graciously agreed to give a master class for the department. We will keep you updated on how both the performance and the master class go!

"When in doubt......dance!"

Week 5 of Fall Term!

Its already week five of the first trimester of the year here at Mercyhurst and midterms are in full swing! Individual conferences or combinations performed individually are usually the standard when it comes midterm evaluations in the dancespace. Otherwise everyone is really beginning to focus in on the fall show, its only about a month away!

In other exciting news, just this morning two memebers of the department and one member of the faculty headed off to the Project Dance Conference in Australia for two weeks!!!!!!!! The Project Dance Foundation is valid in three areas: work, worship and witness. They labor to support dancers in every arena including the aspiring professional dancers, teachers and growing world of inspirational dance. The students are representing Mercyhurst among hundreds of other dancers and took a couple of liturgical pieces to share with the festival goers. We'll keep you posted on how things go down under!

"Why do I dance?.......... Why do I breath?" - anonymous