Hartt Community Division Dance Department Presents HarttWorks, March 18 - 19

Hartt Community Division Dance Department Presents HarttWorks, March 18 - 19

The annual multi-genre dance production will take place on the campus of the University of Hartford.

West Hartford, Conn. – February 10, 2016. The Hartt School Community Division (HCD) presents its annual HarttWorks dance performance Friday, March 18, at 7:30 p.m. and Saturday, March 19, at 2 p.m. at Millard Auditorium on the campus of the University of Hartford, 200 Bloomfield Avenue, West Hartford. Tickets are $20 each, and can be purchased via the University Box Office at 860.768.4228 or 800.274.8587 or online at hartford.edu/tickets.

HarttWorks offers the unique opportunity for audience members to observe multiple-genre, professional-quality dance works in one cohesive production. From brand new classical ballet pieces to cutting edge premieres of new works by commissioned and in-house choreographers, there is sure to be a “work” that captivates arts enthusiasts and novice viewers alike. With custom costumes and lighting design enhancing the innovative preprofessional student performers, this season’s HarttWorks performance will engage dance audiences of all ages.

HarttWorks will feature “BalletWorks,” “ModernWorks,” and “JazzWorks.” Included are new pieces by HCD faculty coupled with the staging of two classic ballet excerpts and the first-ever collaborative effort within HCD itself.

In “BalletWorks,” the HCD Dance Department teams up with the HCD Young Composers Project to produce an all-new ballet choreographed by HarttWorks Artistic Director Susannah Marchese. Young Composer student Jake Poulios, a senior at the Greater Hartford Academy of Arts, composed the music for this ballet, which will be played live on piano by HCD piano student Genny Norman and danced by the HCD Dance Department students. This group effort will be an exciting opportunity to see much of what the Hartt Community Division has to offer.

Also in “BalletWorks” are two staged classics. The Paquita Suite is an iconic ballet in the classical repertoire and an important milestone piece for all young dancers to perform. Staged by Marchese with rehearsal assistance from Hartt Collegiate Dance Division faculty member Hilda Morales, Paquita is a challenge of style and technique.

The second staged piece is a pas de deux from choreographer Michael Vernon’s In A Country Garden. This is his own representation of the classic pas de deux from La Fille Mal Gardee. Joining the HCD Dance Department is Hartt Collegiate Dance Division student Calvin Bittner.

Rounding out “BalletWorks” is former HCD Dance Department faculty member Rebecca DeNies’s newly created contemporary ballet titled Nuance, a ballet about individuality and how that shapes the group dynamic.

“ModernWorks” presents two premieres by returning guest choreographers Katie Stevinson-Nollet and Cristin Cawley. Cawley’s piece titled Joined Hand centers around the idea of hope and peace for the future.

Current HCD Dance Department faculty members, Mary Sylvester and Spencer Pond, created the two “JazzWorks” pieces on this year’s program.

Sylvester’s rendition of Singin’ in the Rain will no doubt be an audience favorite, and Pond’s staging of Bob Fosse’s “Steam Heat” will represent the first use of Fosse’s choreography for the HCD Dance Department students. Fosse’s style of jazz is considered a classic style for young jazz students to learn.

HarttWorks will also present a locally based dance troupe, Pond’s own company, The Now Unboxing Project, performing Etudes, a celebration of the technique, aesthetic, and themes of jazz set to Chopin’s masterworks by the same name. Included in Pond’s troupe are HCD faculty members and graduates of the Hartt Collegiate Dance Division.

About Artistic Director, Susannah Marchese

Before stepping in as the Hartt School Community Division’s Interim Chair of Dance and Harttworks Artistic Director, Susannah Marchese served as Harttworks rehearsal assistant for three years. Marchese began her dance training with Leda and Andre Eglevsky in New York. At the age of 16, she began her professional career as a member of The Eglevsky Ballet and went on to be a principal dancer with Ballet Omaha, Hartford Ballet, and The Eglevsky Ballet. She has danced with New York City Opera, The Radio City Music Hall, and performed in the Broadway production of The Phantom Of The Opera from 1994–98. In 2011, Marchese joined the faculty of the Hartt School Community Division Dance Department and became Interim Chair in 2014.

The Hartt School Community Division (HCD) is a comprehensive community arts school that annually provides performing arts instruction to more than 2,800 students. As the community arm of The University of Hartford’s Hartt School, the mission of HCD is to enrich lives through innovative and unparalleled performing arts education. HCD’s diverse programing provides a comprehensive music and dance experience for students of all ages and abilities. For more information on The Hartt School Community Division, visit hartford.edu/hcd.

The Hartt School is the performing arts conservatory of the University of Hartford that offers innovative degree programs in music, dance, and theatre. Founded in 1920, Hartt has been an integral part of the University of Hartford since its charter merged the then Hartt School of Music, the Hartford Art School, and Hillyer College to create the University in 1957. 2010 marked Hartt’s 90th year of providing world class performing arts education to students in Greater-Hartford and around the world. With more than 400 concerts, recitals, plays, master classes, dance performances, and musical theatre productions each year, performance is central to Hartt’s curriculum. For more information about The Hartt School, visit hartford.edu/hartt.

Photo: John Long