The Denison University dance department welcomes Molly Shanahan, a visiting Vail artist-in-residence and Denison alumna. She will be in residence from Sunday (March 20) through Saturday (March 26) teaching classes and choreographing a work for students to be presented at the spring concert. Shanahan, with guest Kristina Fluty, will perform "Eye Cycle" at 8 p.m. on Thursday (March 24) and Friday (March 25) in Doane Dance Performance Space (231 W. College St.). The performance is funded by a Creation Fund grant from the National Performance Network, sponsored by Links of Chicago and Denison University department of dance. Cost is $5 general admission. Call (740) 587-6712 between 9 a.m. and 3 p.m. to reserve tickets or go to http://www.denison.edu/academics/departments/dance/events.html for online reservations anytime.

"Eye Cycle" is Shanahan's ongoing project with a quartet of collaborators that illuminates the impact of light, shadow, framing, perspective and reflection on the experience and perception of live and recorded/projected movement. "Daily and with rare exception I am inspired by the play of light, shadow, perspective, so-called repetition (of images, words, lines in space or movement) and a 'real' versus 'imagined' experience of space and time," Shanahan said of her work. "These images illuminate consistence with which human movement returns both doer and witness to the present movement and are catalysts for my recent work which includes recorded and live-feed video imagery (both dance and non-dance) to layer group and solo work with the multiplication and transformation of perspective that video allows."

Shanahan is a choreographer and dancer and founded the Mad Shak Dance Company when she moved to Chicago in 1994. Via the collaborative process she fosters with company dancers and with her long time music collaborator and composer in residence Kevin O'Donnell, Shanahan has premiered more than 40 dances in Chicago, Cleveland Public Theatre, the Ohio State University, Denison University and Theater Workshop.

A native of Ontario, Shanahan moved to Detroit at the age of nine, where she earned a scholarship at Detroit Country Day School. Shanahan's passion for movement invention took formal roots during her undergraduate years at Denison. She studied movement, composition and dance theory with Associate Professors Sandy Mathern-Smith and Gill Miller. She earned her bachelor's degree in 1990. In 1992, she earned a master of arts degree in dance from Ohio State University with a focus in choreography.

In addition to Mad Shak Dance Company, she teaches advanced contemporary dance and improvisation at Northwestern University, The University of Chicago and Lou Conte Dance Studio. She has been a guest artist at numerous universities in the Midwest and created commissioned work for The Repertory Project of Cleveland, The University of Chicago, Denison University, The Dance Center of Columbia College Chicago, The University of Alaska and SUNY Potsdam.

Calendar Listing:

CALENDAR LISTING: Denison University, Granville -- The Denison University dance department presents "Eye Cycle," a performance by Molly Shanahan and Kristina Fluty at 8 p.m. on Thursday (March 24) and Friday (March 25) in the Doane Dance Building (231 W. College St.). Cost is $5 general admission. Contact (740) 587-6712 between 9 a.m. and 3 p.m. to make reservations or go to http://www.denison.edu/academics/departments/dance/events.html at anytime for online reservations.

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

Position Title

Director, Media Relations

Primary Email

stambaughb@denison.edu

Business Phone

(740) 587-8575