MOMENTUM at HSU

Humboldt State University student dance performance presented three nights only, Thursday, Friday and Saturday at 8 p.m., April 20-22 at the Van Duzer theatre on the HSU campus. Admission $8, $5 non- HSU students/seniors, free to HSU students. Presented by HSU Dept. of Theatre, Film & Dance. Sharon Butcher, Artistic Director. Tickets: 826-3928

Sunday, April 23, 2006


gathering MOMENTUM at HSU: Leanne Sutton,
Aleka Dickerson, Johanna Kaplan-Coleman, Jenna Fuhlbrugge
and Tara Lihn. Credit all photos: HSU Graphic Services Posted by Picasa

Saturday, April 22, 2006

LAST CHANCE!

After two full houses in the van Duzer theatre (even extending to the balcony Friday!), MOMENTUM will be performed for the last time tonight.

There's also a silent auction tonight to help defray costs of student participation in the American College Dance Festival.

I went to the show last night and it was amazing!!! ... the show was extremely motivating and moving..I was nearly in tears a FEWtimes....I will be there again tonight.......... Jeri S. (From the comments above.)

Photos from rehearsals of the show appeared in the Eureka Times Standard, Eureka Reporter and the Lumberjack, the HSU student newspaper.

Monday, April 17, 2006

MOMENTUM on KHSU!

Dance faculty Linda Sievers and Sharon Butcher will talk about MOMENTUM and dance at HSU on the weekly arts program, ARTWAVES, on KHSU-FM at 1:30 pm on Tuesday, April 18.

Wednesday, April 05, 2006



What’s different about this year’s student dance concert at HSU?

MOMENTUM features a dozen dances and more than 50 performers, mostly HSU students but also some graduates and members of the community. There’s a variety of solos, small group and large ensemble dances.

Sarah Carlton and Jennifer Updyke Posted by Picasa
And there’s a bracing diversity of styles and music: jazz, contemporary, Latin, Middle Eastern and a piece partly inspired by Australian Aboriginal dance.

Posted by Picasa Sarah Carlton and Jennifer Updyke
There’s an array of moods, from playful and childlike, to a wicked parody of the 1970s disco scene; from a poignant exploration of how the trauma of obsessive-compulsive disorder might feel, to a vibrant production number featuring a stage full of spirited salsa dancers (including guys.) There’s even some multimedia in several pieces.

Sarah Carlton and Jennifer Updyke. Posted by Picasa
But what’s really new this year is the mix of choreographers.

“For the last several years, the faculty did most of the choreography, so the student dancers would have the experience of working with them towards a performance,” said Sharon Butcher, Artistic Director of Momentum and Assistant Professor in the HSU Theatre, Film & Dance department. “But this year we had so many strong pieces choreographed by students that three of us on the faculty took our pieces out of the show, to make more room for student work.”

So the April program will feature two works by faculty: a Middle Eastern dance created by Rose Anthony (known professionally as Shoshanna) and a jazz-driven dance by Andrea Leigh-Smith, plus a sultry salsa extravaganza co-created (with student Tara Lihn) by Erin Fernadez, director of the local FUSION jazz dance company. The rest of the dances are entirely by student choreographers.

The student dances include three --by Tara Lihn, Jennifer Updyke and Emily Stebbins-- that were taken to the American College Dance Festival regional, representing HSU.

Aleka Dickerson, Tara Lihn, Johanna Kaplan-Coleman and
the hands and feet of Leanne Sutton, in HSU's MOMENTUM. Posted by Picasa
Some of the dances MOMENTUM audiences will see:

“Walkabout” by Sarah Carlton: Resulting from her stay in Australia last year, this solo dance with film projection is based on Aboriginal dance and storytelling, expressing Australia’s awesome landscape and wildlife.

Tara Lihn’s fast-paced and comical dance expressing the child’s freedom and imagination in play.

Carly Boland’s energetic flashback to the Disco Diva 1970s.

“If Only You Knew” by Jennifer Updyke: a duet with projections, expressing everyday doubts combined with the trauma of obsessive-compulsion disorder, that afflicts many people at some point in their lives.

“Bloom” by Tricia Aaron: Inspired by the moment just before a flower blooms, transferred to the human movement of opening to something new, or simply growing.

“Passing By” by Brianna Powers and Crystal Stroud: a modern dance based on pedestrian movements, as meditations on noticing what otherwise just passes us by.

“Evocation” by Julie Takagishi: Evoking the relationship of earth’s natural cycles to the journey of the human spirit.

Emily Stebbins works with experimental, creative and “crazy” movement, exploring lines and connections, and the architecture of dance.

The home stretch: Sarah Carlton, Tara Lihn, Carly Boland prepare for MOMENTUM at HSU. Posted by Picasa
Once again this year, the Saturday performance will include a silent auction to help defray costs of participation in the American College Dance Festival. Items for auction were donated and will be displayed in the lobby. “ We’ve done it for the last couple of years, and it’s been really fun,” Sharon Butcher said.

Sarah Carlton in "Walkabout," based on Aboriginal storytelling and dance. Posted by Picasa
The accent on student participation continued beyond the dances themselves. Dancers also designed the poster and program, gathered public relations information, worked on costumes, and assisted with hanging lights and backstage arrangements. “I want them to be involved in the various aspects of production,” Butcher explained, “so they can get an idea of all the preparations that go into creating a concert. It’s important that they understand what it takes.”

The dancers also named the evening: Momentum. “They looked for a title that was powerful and dynamic, and would embrace the variety of dances,” Butcher said. “I think they found a good one.”

Momentum: gathering impetus of forward movement, in the moment.

Posted by Picasa

HSU Dance Faculty

Linda Sievers
Sharon Butcher
Jandy Bergmann
Shoshanna (Rose Anthony)
Deborah Kettleson
Andrea Leigh-Smith
Jeff O'Connor

 Posted by Picasa

Monday, April 03, 2006

Coming Soon!

MOMENTUM, this year’s HSU student dance performance, is presented for three nights only, Thursday, Friday and Saturday at 8 p.m., April 20-22 at the Van Duzer theatre on the HSU campus. Over 50 dancers perform short works of a dozen choreographers, including jazz, disco parody and a spicy salsa extravaganza. Admission is $8, $5 non- HSU students/seniors, free to HSU students. Silent auction fundraiser Saturday. Presented by HSU Dept. of Theatre, Film & Dance. Sharon Butcher, Artistic Director. Tickets: 826-3928.

Watch this space for more information soon!