May 9, 2013

The Dance program performs two fully produced concerts each season featuring the Drexel Dance Ensemble and FreshDance freshman dance company. The experience gives students in both companies the opportunity to explore their artistry through working with professional choreographers, both faculty and guests artists, as well as with student choreographers.

The Drexel Dance Ensemble spring concert, “Shift,” will take place at the Mandell Theater May 30, 31 and June 1 at 8:00 p.m. each night. The show features seven student-choreographed works and three professionally choreographed pieces.  Ellen Forman Memorial Award recipient Kariamu Welsh has created an original work, “The Totem Pole,” with movement for the concert that is rooted in her original Pan-African Umfundalai dance technique.

The FreshDance Ensemble show, “Elements,” will take place June 1 at 3:00 p.m. and June 2 at 1:00 p.m. in the Mandell Theater. This show includes two student-choreographed pieces and four guest-choreographed works, including a performance piece “Sunset East of the Hot Tin Room,” created by Dance Professor Olive Prince in collaboration with Professor Luke Abruzzo from the Music Program. 

Tickets for the two events are $5 for students and $10 for all others. For more information, call the Mandell Theater Box Office at (215) 895-2787. The Mandell Theater is located the corner of 33rd & Chestnut Streets, Philadelphia.

One of the more notable components of the Drexel Dance Ensemble is the student choreography. Each year, 14 students are selected to create original works for their peers, working with a staff of theater professionals, including a lighting designer and four costume designers creating original costumes for each piece. At the end of the year, four exceptional student choreographers are invited to reconstruct their works on the FreshDance Ensemble the following year, allowing their dances to have an extended life in our repertory.