SUNY Potsdam Department of Theatre and Dance Presents Faculty Dance Concert from Feb. 24 to 27
Emma Hyde ’25 is hoisted in the air while rehearsing Professor Emeritus Don Borsh’s “Angels ’Round the Zenith” on stage at the Proscenium Theater on Feb. 10.
The SUNY Potsdam Department of Theatre and Dance is proud to present the Faculty Dance Concert 2022, featuring works by four choreographers performed by talented students. Performances will be offered from Thursday, Feb. 24, to Saturday, Feb. 26, with daily shows at 7:30 p.m., ending the run with a matinee at 2 p.m. on Sunday, Feb. 27. The concert will be presented in the Proscenium Theater in the Performing Arts Center. The concert is being dedicated to Elizabeth Howell '22. A moment of silence will be observed to honor Beth during the performance.
Choreographer Zoe Walders ’16 is thrilled and grateful to return to her alma mater to set a work for current students; she received her Bachelor of Arts degree in dance at SUNY Potsdam in 2016. Her piece, “En Route,” features five dancers and has a highly gestural and stylized movement vocabulary. Walders notes that “the piece is one ideation of where we are ‘En Route’ to, looking at power, gender, technology and more.”
Zoe Walders '16
Currently based in Rochester, Walders is a company member with Frazee Feet Dance and Create A Space NOW. She recently presented her first evening-length performance as part of the Rochester Fringe Festival. Walders’ choreography has also been shown at the Wake Forest Dance Festival (Wake Forest, N.C.), Mark Morris Dance Group’s SharedSpace (Brooklyn, N.Y.), and Mare Nostrum Element’s Emerging Choreographers Series (New York, N.Y.).
Professor Emeritus Don Borsh is returning to SUNY Potsdam to restage “Angels ’Round the Zenith”—originally created for SUNY Potsdam dance students in 2015. Borsh was on the Department of Theatre and Dance faculty from 1994 to 2020.
Stephanie Adams ’23 rehearses Professor Emeritus Don Borsh’s “Angels ’Round the Zenith” in SUNY Potsdam’s Performing Arts Center on Thursday, Feb. 10.
Borsh describes his inspiration for the dance: “As a child, my parents often dragged me along to the local Grange Hall to either sit in a corner sulkily watching, or to participate in an evening of square dancing, very uncool for a kid in the early ’60s. But what I have come to appreciate is that some of the forms in square dancing are centuries old and that those evenings served the very important function of bringing the community, old as well as young, together in that shared, movement experience, as well as transmitting a part of our country’s rich cultural history to the community though dance.”
“Angels ’Round the Zenith” features music by John Hartford, Ralph Stanley and Alison Kraus.
Audrey Wrobel ’24 rehearses Assistant Professor Cynthia DuFault’s “CorresponDance,” in SUNY Potsdam’s Performing Arts Center on Thursday, Feb. 10.
Choreographer Cynthia DuFault is an assistant professor in the Department of Theatre and Dance. She will present a trio, titled “CorresponDance.” The dance experiments with film and projections, and uses a sound score that reflects the history of correspondence, from the scribbling of a feather quill on paper to modern means of technology.
The final choreographer, Kerri Canedy, is a visiting assistant professor in the Department of Theatre and Dance. She will present three choreographic works.
“Lumihiutaleita” (Finnish for snowflakes) is a lyrical modern dance piece that was inspired by watching the snowflakes as they flew and swirled by during a beautiful winter’s day. “Celestial Void,” a contemporary modern dance piece, was inspired by a musical collaboration with composer Parker Canedy. The choreographer notes, “The dance evokes imagery, through sound and movement, of what it would feel like to travel to, and dance in space.”
She also collaborated with Associate Professor Todd Canedy and his students in the Fall 2021 Scenic Painting course to create a beautiful set piece. “We Create, We Fight, We Will Not Be Shamed…” is a large group jazz dance piece.
“I wanted to work with a large group of unique and talented dancers to help portray the idea that it is OK to be strong and emotional, and proud of our bodies, no matter what, and to believe that no one ever has the right to make us feel weak or shamed,” Kerri Canedy said.
Tickets are $15 for general admission, $10 for senior citizens, students or employees, and $5 for youth aged 12 and under. Tickets are available at the Community Performance Series Box Office, located in the Performing Arts Center lobby, by calling (315) 267-2277 or visiting www.cpspotsdam.org. Tickets will also be available at the door prior to the show.
Please note that all audience members will be required to show proof of vaccination before entering the theater and will be asked to wear masks during the performance.
For more information on the production, please contact the Department of Theatre and Dance at (315) 267-2556.
SUNY Potsdam’s Department of Theatre and Dance cultivates an innovative, experiential and multidisciplinary education within an inclusive community which prepares students for leadership and service in the arts as global citizens. The nationally accredited program offers majors in dance, theatre and arts management—all housed in the College’s award-winning Performing Arts Center. For more information, visit http://www.potsdam.edu/theatre.
About SUNY Potsdam:
Founded in 1816, The State University of New York at Potsdam is one of America’s first 50 colleges—and the oldest institution within SUNY. Now in its third century, SUNY Potsdam is distinguished by a legacy of pioneering programs and educational excellence. The College currently enrolls approximately 3,000 undergraduate and graduate students. Home to the world-renowned Crane School of Music, SUNY Potsdam is known for its challenging liberal arts and sciences core, distinction in teacher training and culture of creativity. To learn more, visit www.potsdam.edu.
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