Dance Slam is Platform for New Choreography and Kicks Off Day of FUN-Raising at Intuit Dance!

Join us on Saturday, March 14 for a day of fun and fund raising. “There is so much talent at Intuit Dance,” says Diane VanDerhei, Artistic Director, “We required three shows to show it all!”

1:30 pm Afternoon Dance Slam – tickets $10

3:30 pm Intuit Dance Teen Performance Company showcase – tickets $10

7:30 pm Contemporary Coppelia sneak preview and Young Choreographers’ original choreography – tickets $15 or 2 for $25

9:00 P.M. – Silent auction, reception, dance party, come out and mingle with the dancers – tickets $10 at the door for party only.

Details and tickets at www.intuitdance.org

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“The 1:30 pm Afternoon Dance Slam is like a poetry slam,” says director Diane VanDerhei. It will feature works in progress, include a structured improvisation, and have an informal line up to the program. “There will be more than the usual audience interaction!” says Margo Ruark, who is producing the Afternoon Dance Slam. “Prepare for something different!”

Connor Cornelius will be showing a solo Mitość with music of Ewa Bejnrowicz and we will see a condensed version of Cogs, a piece the Adult Repertoire Ensemble has been rehearsing. A new addition to Intuit’s faculty this year, Cornelius is a winner of the 2014 DanceMoves choreographer’s competition. “We are delighted to have her on board,” says VanDerhei.

Ruark, debuts her new piece Tangled Webs for the 2015 season, at the Afternoon Dance Slam. “I took an impulse from the famous words of Sir Walter Scott, “Oh, what a tangled web we weave. . . “ Scott wrote those words in 1513 about lies begetting more lies, creating an ever-more-complex, even deadly web of falsehoods. These are universal choices and feelings and no one escapes this particular crossroad. Lisa Kozinski and Susan Penrod Osterkil perform to a traditional Cajun folksong from “The General’s Daughter” soundtrack.

Instructor Samantha Brenneman and her troupe Smoke promise to uplift and inspire with their own brand of belly dance. “Every piece is new choreography,” says Brenneman. “We have our basic technique, but after that it’s improvisation and personal expression.”

A historical reconstruction of the Rosas Danst Rosas by Anna Teresa der Keersmaker is the centerpiece of the day. VanDerhei has reconstructed this 1984 keepsake in tongue-in-cheek fashion to musical accompaniment of Beyonce’s Countdown. If you have ever seen the music video, you will understand the irony of this juxtaposition.

The afternoon ends with a structured improvisation around a special theme chosen for the day: The life and times of the praying mantis, a topic chosen for its loose association to the theme of Dance Slam. One source defines “Structured improvisation” as “a mixture of conscious choice and spontaneous reaction that includes periods of sustained concentration and moments of irreproducible magic.” Participants include members of the Morton West High School Improv Club! Take a seat in the black box theater at 237 Harrison Street, Oak Park. If you are curious about INTUIT’s other programs come back for the 3:30 show of fabulous dancing and choreography by INTUIT’s Teen Performance Company and 7:30 Contemporary Coppelia – 3:30 and 7:30 shows are great for kids!

All ticket proceeds go to support the scholarship fund at Intuit Dance. Tickets can be purchased at either INTUIT Dance studio locations or online. For tickets and more information, go to http://www.intuitdance.org

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