1/8/2015 12:00:00 AM

Two Dance program companies will present the choreography of exceptional students, faculty, and guest artists this January during their winter concerts, which explore the themes of new beginnings and iconic figures.

The Drexel Dance Ensemble, a professional caliber dance company that melds the classical and the contemporary, will present ten pieces inspired by a range of iconic figures—from celebrities to everyday heroes—in Heroes and Icons. The show will take place in the Mandell Theater (33^rd and Chestnut Streets) from January 22 to 24 at 8:00pm. Seven of the pieces were created by student choreographers, including Dance majors Corina Cleffi, Eilse Mele, Sara Nichols and Alicia Tom; as well as LeBow College of Business student Danielle Piarulli; Coralie-Michele Francois and Kathryn Miller, Biological Sciences students, and Katherine Coleby, Environmental Science student, all from the College of Arts and Sciences. Their inspirations range from family members to war heroes. The show will feature three pieces from professional choreographers, including guest artist Eun-Jung Choi, as well as the premieres of works by Dance Program Director Dr. Miriam Giguere, whose piece honors fashion icon Roberto Capucci and Professor Jennifer Morley, whose work explores our resonance with mythological heroes.

FreshDance, our all-freshman dance company, will perform New Chapter on Friday, January 30 and Saturday, January 31 at 8:00pm in the Mandell Theater. The show will feature three original pieces choreographed by Drexel Dance faculty Marcia Mamura, KC Chun-Manning and Leah Stein; as well as two remounted works from Dance program students Marissa Auriemma and Karly Bais, whose piece, I Found Myself in the Darkness, premiered last year by the Dance Ensemble. Articulating body betrayal and the inability to perform at full capacity, the piece was inspired by Bais’s personal experience with cancer. As she explains, the work explores “feeling defeated by this betrayal but knowing you aren't alone in this struggle. Realizing that at the end of that dark tunnel you feel trapped in lies the light which leads you out.”

Click here to purchase tickets to all performances, which are $10 for General Admission or $5 for students.