Dances Examine Journeys of the Body and the Spirit

MFA Candidates Present Thesis Concert Oct. 22-23 at Clarice Smith Center

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
CONTACT: Andrew Zender, azender@umd.edu
(301) 405-8151

October 9, 2009 — College Park, MD. — UM Department of Dance MFA candidates April Gruber and Vannia Ibarguen will explore ideas about distance, communication and the transient nature of life in their dual program Birds of a Feather and Through the Distance at the Clarice Smith Performing Arts Center’s Dance Theatre, Thursday – Friday, Oct. 22 and 23, 2009 at 8 p.m.

Gruber’s work, Birds of a Feather, draws inspiration from the Japanese reverence for the crane. Initially inspired by origami, Gruber made hundreds of paper cranes, following the folding instructions to generate movement material. During her practice, she became transfixed with the idea of flight, weightlessness and the cyclical nature of migration. The piece features collaborations with Dawn Springer and Saki Kawakita, including a solo entitled Dreams of Flight and the Takasago, a traditional Japanese fan dance.

"I am interested in the expressive potential of dance and how the human body is a vehicle for the delicate and the bold. My hope is that my physical experience resonates with the audience and speaks to them in a deeply human way," says Gruber.

In Through the Distance, Vannia Ibarguen approaches life as a journey or set of journeys that separate people and reunite them. Ibarguen, a former instructor for the Dance Department at the University of Lima, Peru who has performed around the world, utilizes collaborations with dancers in California, South American and Europe in performance that combines real-time dancing and interaction with recorded videos of performances.

"Through the Distance was born as an idea based on the last seven years of my life after living in four different cities and visiting more than twelve different countries. Through this journey, I have made amazing friends and seen extraordinary places, but the hardest part has always been leaving them behind," says Ibarguen.

Tickets are $20 for the general public and $9 for full-time students with I.D. Tickets are available by visiting www.claricesmithcenter.umd.edu or calling (301) 405-ARTS (2787). The Clarice Smith Performing Arts Center is located at the intersection of University Boulevard (Route 193) and Stadium Drive in College Park, on the campus of the University of Maryland. A parking garage is located across the street from the Center.

The Clarice Smith Performing Arts Center is funded by an operating grant from the Maryland State Arts Council, an agency dedicated to cultivating a vibrant cultural community where the arts thrive. Funding for the Maryland State Arts Council is also provided by the National Endowment for the Arts, a federal agency, which believes that a great nation deserves great art. Additional support is generously provided by a grant from the Leading College and University Presenters Program of the Doris Duke Charitable Foundation, and by a generous grant from The Morris & Gwendolyn Cafritz Foundation.