The multidisciplinary collaboration “Coming to Light,” sponsored by IU's Lilly Endowment-funded New Frontiers project, will form the heart of IU's annual modern dance showcase, “New Frontiers and Contemporary Traditions,” January 12-13 in the Ruth N. Halls Theatre.

The project, woven together by Professors Elizabeth Shea of HPER's modern dance and kinesiology program, Jeffrey Hass of the School of Music, and Robert Shakespeare of the Department of Theatre and Drama, features new dance, original music, and innovative lighting design.

“The grant was absolutely essential for this type of collaboration to happen,” Shea says. “Not only did the grant provide the equipment we needed, but it afforded us the time to really collaborate and make this project a tip priority.” According to Shea, it turned out that the three principals shared remarkably similar visions about the piece, “sometimes, without even any direct verbal communication. We had never actually discussed our individual approaches, but we arrived at the same place.”

Originally, Elizabeth Shea intended to design a dance piece that would explore the state of humanity under contemporary stress, but it evolved through the collaboration and the complexities of her own creative process into something more like a story or legend. “I believe this work will really take the audience to a new level of artistic experience,” she says. “The marriage of art and technology has allowed all of us to explore our art in new ways.”

The evening of dance and music promises several other new works, including another New Frontiers-funded composition. IU Contemporary Dance program faculty member Laura Poole will engage the audience on multiple levels through music, dance, and video sequences that will be projected onto the stage and onto the dancers. Sven-David Sandstrom ( School of Music ) composed the score, while Ricardo Alvarez (Fine Arts) created the video art. “I want the audience to receive the piece on many levels,” Poole says, “so that the interplay between all the elements will leave the spectators with a lasting impact.”

Also presenting a new work is Gwendolyn Hamm, associate professor of kinesiology. Hamm 's work, A Reel, is set to a multicultural fusion of African/Celtic music. It's a light-hearted dance, with no particular intent other than to blend somewhat traditional "Reel" music with contemporary modern dance. George Pinney (Theatre and Drama) and Iris Rosa (Director, African American Dance Company) will also present exciting new works, and guest artist and IU alumna Liz Monnier was commissioned to set her work Ghi, with music by F'loom, on IU contemporary dance students.

A second round of New Frontiers grants will be awarded to IU faculty later in the spring, and other performances and exhibits based on the 2005 winners will occur in the coming months.

Coming to Light