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2017 Alumni

Choreographer Joshua L. Peugh ’06 reimagines the classics

Two new works by choreographer Joshua L. Peugh will have their international premiere in Seoul, just days before Dark Circles Contemporary Dance returns to Dallas to open its fifth anniversary season, October 19–21.

Since graduating from SMU’s Meadows School of the Arts in 2006, Joshua L. Peugh ’06 has achieved acclaim worldwide for his unique and innovative choreography. He founded Dark Circles Contemporary Dance (DCCD)  in 2010 in Seoul, with the company’s newest branch based in Dallas. DCCD was among the performing arts groups appearing in the groundbreaking public theater production of The Tempest in March. Two new works by Peugh will have their international premiere in Seoul, just days before the company returns to Dallas to open its fifth anniversary season.
Dark Circles Contemporary Dance’s Big Bad Wolf and Les Fairies will be performed at the Dee and Charles Wyly Theatre, 6th Floor Studio Theatre, October 19–21, just days after their international premiere in Seoul, South Korea. The company celebrates the opening of its fifth anniversary season with these two new creations by founder and artistic director Joshua L. Peugh ’06.
Big Bad Wolf is inspired by cautionary tales people worldwide use to frighten naughty children. Influenced by characters described in stories by Heinrich Hoffmann, the Grimm Brothers, Charles Perrault and others, the work will be grandly theatrical and draw from vaudeville. A brand-new score for the work has been commissioned from composer and SMU Meadows School of the Arts alumnus Brandon Carson ’16.
The second work, Les Fairies, is a modern reimagining of the classic ballet Les Sylphides, with music by Frédéric Chopin performed live by Meadows School of the Arts staff musician Richard Abrahamson.
The production will feature a lighting design by Roma Flowers, whose credits include work for Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater, Donald Bird, Doug Elkins Dance Company, Urban Bush Women, Doug Varone, Dance Theatre of Harlem and many other distinguished dance companies and artists. Susan Austin will provide the costume design.
Performances are scheduled for 7:30 p.m. on Thursday, October 19; and at 8 p.m. on Friday and Saturday, October 20–21. Tickets are $25. More information about our performances can be found online at darkcirclescontemporarydance.com along with additional details about the company’s fifth anniversary season.

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