Two world premieres by noted guest choreographers and the revival of an acclaimed work by jazz dance artist and faculty member Danny Buraczeski were featured works of the Spring Dance Concert presented by SMU’s Meadows School of the Arts. Photographer Kim Leeson was on hand to capture the show.
Opening the program was the premiere of Darkside by Visiting Artist-in-Residence John Selya, based on the Tom Stoppard radio play of the same name. Darkside incorporates music from Pink Floyd’s Dark Side of the Moon album and brings a visual element to a solely auditory work. The piece centered on a character named Emily, an inquisitive philosophy student who sets out on a journey to decipher the teachings of her professor and fulfill her destiny.
The program continued with faculty member Danny Buraczeski’s acclaimed 1999 piece Ezekiel’s Wheel, inspired by the life and work of author and Civil Rights activist James Baldwin. The piece was set to a percussive musical score interspersed with passages of Baldwin’s writings.
The program concluded with the premiere of The Hi Betty Cha-Cha by alumnus Joshua Peugh (’06), founder and director of Dark Circles Contemporary Dance. The work had five contrasting sections set to music that includes two Dean Martin songs, Senza Fine and I Wish You Love; Quartetto Cetra’s 1945 hit Crapa Pelada; Ryuichi Sakamoto’s A Flower Is not a Flower; and Herb Alpert and the Tijuana Brass’s lively version of Zorba the Greek. Dark Circles Contemporary Dance has produced award-winning works in five countries, and Peugh was named one of Dance Magazine’s “25 to Watch” in 2015.
See also:
Your Guide to Dance at SMU Meadows
