| | Published November 20th, 2013
| New Horizons for Upcoming SMC Graduates
| | By Amanda Kuehn |  | | Image provided
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You work and explore and learn and grow, and at the end of four years of hard work what do you have? For eight senior students at Saint Mary's College of California the answer is "plenty." Though not all undergraduates can take their hard-earned insights to the stage, for students majoring in dance, performance is essential.
The choreography of seniors Ally DeBoer, Britney Edens, Jenny Glosser, Joseph Klink, Melissa Miller, Christina Nelson, Kelsey Peterson and MarthaClaire Pile will be front and center on the stage of Le Fevre Theatre Thursday through Saturday, Dec. 5-7.
"I'm extremely impressed with what our seniors have done," said Catherine Davalos, artistic director of the Davalos Dance Company and professor at Saint Mary's College. "Horizons," the name the students have chosen for the production, is a unique concert of movement. "The image of the horizon reflects the vastness of the world, as well as the vastness of humanity, and reminds us where we have been and where we are going," the students stated in a press release. "No two people have ever, or will ever live the same life, but ultimately we are all looking at the same sky."
From the lighting and costumes to the promotional materials, including the poster, the performance is completely student-run and will include a variety of dance styles, from modern to tap to dance theater. "I'm really pleased with their work," said Davalos. "I find it fascinating." The dances explore such themes as love, magic, faith, innocence, sacrifice and competition.
Most of the pieces deal with struggle in one form or another. "I see it a lot in their generation," said Davalos. "They're more connected to their personal struggles and to struggles on a global level as well." Pieces by Pile and Klink will address a need to endure. Glosser's "Tap That" puts forth a more friendly form of competition, while DeBoer's "First Thing, Last Thing" depicts a struggle between love and loss. The struggle in Edens' "Buried Chains" is one of hiding emotional turmoil from the rest of the world. In Miller's "Nine and Three Quarters" we see the age-old struggle between good and evil. Peterson's "From the Dust" focuses on the struggle of finding faith in dark times, and Nelson's performance explores the tension between childlike and adult behavior.
In addition to its senior stars, "Horizons" will also feature a solo by Saint Mary's junior Felicia Cazares and a group dance by faculty member Jia Wu. The 12 senior dance students (eight of whom are choreographing) will be joined by a cast of two dozen underclassmen. "They're a particularly strong and artistic group," noted Davalos.
Each show begins at 8 p.m. Tickets are free for Saint Mary's students and $5 for general admission. For information and reservations please contact (925) 631-4670. Tickets are also available on brownpapertickets.com.
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Lamorinda Weekly, Moraga CA