Dance faculty members from Health and Exercise Studies and Arts NC State join forces to present an evening of choreography surrounded by Vernon Pratt’s artwork on Thursday, January 31, 2019, at the Gregg Museum of Art.
Faculty members include Teaching Associate Professor and Department Head Beth Wright Fath (Health and Exercise Studies NC State), Panoramic Dance Project Director and Lecturer Francine Ott (Dance Program/Arts NC State), and Teaching Associate Professor and Dance Minor Coordinator Autumn Mist Belk (Health and Exercise Studies NC State).
Beth Wright Fath – Rev, Part 1
Beth Wright Fath will be performing Rev, Part 1, a solo choreographed for her by Maryland-based dance artist Joan Nicholas-Walker. The prelude to a larger work to be completed in 2020, Rev, Part 1 is a study in contrast; indirect busyness verses direct form. Nicholas-Walker was inspired by Vernon Pratt’s love of jazz music and is striving to create a visual and physical representation of the musical score composed by John Coltrane as performed by Thelonius Monk.
Francine Ott – The Proposal
Francine Ott will be performing a solo (self-choreographed), entitled The Proposal. Her piece investigates the question, “How do you receive what you have prayed for, now that it is here? You have done all the preparation, now it is time to walk it out.”
Autumn Mist Belk – 4×4
Autumn Mist Belk will be presenting the only group dance of the concert and she will be joined by two NC State alumni and one other professional dancer (from Raleigh-based Code f.a.d. Company) to perform her newest choreographic work, 4×4. Belk’s quartet is a direct response to Vernon Pratt: All the Possibilities of Sixteen, and explores all the ways four dancers can embody the spirit of the visual artwork through gesture, acrobatics, and the human form. 4×4 also uses excerpts of Rich Holly’s Denominators for its musical score, composed for the exhibition based on Pratt’s examinations of jazz music and mathematics.
“Given my background in both dance and visual art, choreographing in response to “Vernon Pratt: All the Possibilities of Sixteen,” and then getting to perform that choreography while surrounded by the artwork, is really an enriching experience. I make a lot more dances than visual artwork these days, so having these opportunities to create and perform in conjunction with this exhibition is a way to keep that studio artist alive inside of me. When I first visited the Gregg to see the exhibition, I was instantly struck by how encompassing the work is; it is really quite mesmerizing to be in the space. Once I began working on movement material, Pratt’s very calculated, mathematical approach influenced how I crafted 4×4. The work begins with 16 gestures, and then myself and the other dancers continue to manipulate and transform those gestures throughout the 16-minute dance. Of course, having Rich Holly’s composition Denominators accompany the choreography was an easy choice as it is accompanying the exhibition already. It was not, however, an easy choice to decide on just three sections of the music to use; perhaps there is an evening-length concert in my future to find inspiration in the entire musical composition.” – Autumn Mist Belk
We hope to see you at this free concert on Thursday, January 31, 2019, at 6 p.m. To learn more visit the Gregg Museum of Art and Design online.
