Thank you for attending the 2023 guest choreographers showcase, Reflections! This concert represents a continued and exciting initiative for the Dance Division: inviting three guest artists (each of a different genre) to work with our dancers over a short period of time in the creation of new dances. The compressed timeline of this highly intensive residency mirrors the real-world experiences they may encounter when moving into the profession. We are delighted that our third experience with this residency initiative has resulted in two world premieres as well as a re-staging. In addition to these three works, faculty member Tiffanie Carson's Tick-Tock, showcasing 15 of our graduating Bachelor of Fine Arts (B.F.A.) and Bachelor of Arts (B.A.) candidates this past fall, will also be presented.

The first of our world premieres is Crown by D.C-based artist Katherine Lopes Zukeri. This is a hip-hop work set to the music of Kendrick Lamar's Blank Panther album. Zukeri invites the audience to experience a visceral expression of the hero's journey. How do we navigate the pressures of our darkest depths and rise to achieve our highest potential as beings of love and light? Next is Ascending Court by Shenandoah University dance faculty member Shylo Martinez, which uses the lens of contemporary ballet to explore a courtship in the confines of court, and explores the ideologies of moving toward something/someone. New York-based choreographer Earl Mosley re-stages I See You, which is a reflection of his reactions to his travels throughout Japan over the years. It is his way of being a voyeur, showing the culture's organization, business and professionalism in contrast to movement that is funky, fun, loose and a little chaotic.

Dance is a universal form of expression that strives to communicate, be it to form community, worship, philosophize, entertain, share stories, express emotions or give visualization to aspirations, struggles and triumphs. In all cases, there is a sharing of information that happens when the performing body moves and is viewed by others . . . and the identification of meaning is based on the many individual and unique factors that each viewer, (including you!), brings to the experience of the “performance.”

I hope you enjoy tonight's performance and I invite you to become a Friend of the Conservatory to help support this, and future, dance initiatives that provide current and impactful experiences for our students.

– Maurice Fraga