The Denison University Department of Dance presents its annual fall concert at 8 p.m. on Thursday, Friday and Saturday (December 2-4) in the Doane Dance Performance Space (231 W. College St.). Featured in the concert will be three works in contemporary and ballet styles by guest artist and Denison alumnus Michael Estanich, new faculty member Mishele Mennett and Sandy Mathern-Smith, associate professor and dance department chair. Denison dance students will perform in all of the works.

Tickets are $5 general admission; $3 for senior citizens, children 16 and under, and Denison faculty and staff; and free for Denison students. For information and reservations please contact Dance Department Production Assistant Jill Uland at (740) 587-6712 or e-mail ulandj@denison.edu, or visit the Website:

Estanich has created a work for nine dancers. "The Pictureframers" sets the dancers in a stark and bleak environment where they strive to connect to each other through both physical and verbal language. Ideas of identity and frames emerge as Estanich investigates how the individual reveals herself to the community that surrounds her. Through quick and tender movements the dancers negotiate their place within the group, constantly unraveling the image that lies beneath the skin.

This 15-minute work is performed by senior dance majors Anusha Jogi,and Jennifer Baker, junior dance minor Maria Vigliucci, sophomore dance majors Sarah Drake, Erin Davidson and Mariel Gallet and minor Alexandra Kirkilis, and first year students Sarah Page and Chandra Leenheer. Estanich is a 1995 alumnus of the dance and theater departments, having earned a bachelor of fine arts degree in theater and a bachelor of arts degree in dance. He was a President'sMedalist, Denison's highest and most prestigious award, a dance fellow and Honor Program student. He danced professionally in Chicago for eight years and is currently pursuing a master's degree in dance and choreography at Ohio State.

Mennett, a new member of the dance faculty, has choreographed a suite of playful dances utilizing ballet technique flavored with a touch of jazz and ballroom. "Perhaps Tonight" is a quintet in three sections, featuring senior Elizabeth McNamara, sophomores Katie Dean, Alexandra Kirkilis, and Chelsea McNealy, and first-year student Lilly Pinto. The work is accompanied by a selection of lounge music standards and Mennett's favorites: Pink Martinis, Frank Sinatra, and Doris Day. Mennett teaches classes in ballet, experiential anatomy and movment analysis. She has danced professionally and choreographed works for companies and university students for the past 20 years. She also is a certified Pilates trainer and licensed massage therapist.

"I can no longer speak in sentences" is choreographed by Associate Professor Mathern-Smith with an original musical score improvised and created by Resident Musician Brian Casey. Investigating the notion of conversation and what it means to communicate, this quartet is both contemplative and physically engaging, incorporating set movement phrases and improvised passages. This 20-minute work is performed by senior major Anusha Jogi, and minors Aubrey Perlee, and Kate Schmidt and sophomore major Sarah Drake. Mathern-Smith has been choreographing and performing for the past 20 years. Her interests lie in improvisational performance and in discovering the moment-to-moment choices that are revealed by what has come before and directed by the natural forces acting upon the body.

CALENDAR LISTING:Denison University, Granville -- The annual fall dance concert featuring works choreographed by faculty and a guest artist and performed by student dancers; 8 p.m. on Thursday, Friday and Saturday (Dec. 2, 3 and 4), Doane Dance Performance Space. General admission is $5, senior citizens and children 16 and under $3. Call (740) 587-6712 or e-mail ulandj@denison.edu to reserve tickets. Contact (740) 587-6712 to confirm information.

About Denison:

Denison University, founded in 1831, is an independent, residential liberal arts institution located in Granville, Ohio. A highly selective college enrolling 2,100 full-time undergraduate students from all 50 states and dozens of foreign countries, Denison is a place where innovative faculty and motivated students collaborate in rigorous scholarship, civic engagement and the cultivation of independent thinking.

For press inquiries:

Name

Barbara Stambaugh

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Director, Media Relations

Primary Email

stambaughb@denison.edu

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(740) 587-8575