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ANDOVER— In a rare event, even for the impressive calendar Phillips Academy keeps, members of the Limón Dance Company return to the Andover campus on May 16 and 17 to perform a range of historic and new work, involving students from the Andover Dance Group. The performance, hosted by the Phillips Academy Department of Theatre and Dance, begins at 7:30 p.m. in the Tang Theatre in George Washington Hall. Tickets cost $5 and may be reserved by calling 978-749-4433.
Limón dancers will be performing two cornerstones of their historic repertoire, “Day on Earth,” choreographed by Doris Humphrey in 1947, and “Chaconne,” a solo dance originally performed by Limón in 1942. Phillips Academy students will perform two works that are the result of a two-week long residency last winter with Limón dancers Kristen Foote and Kathryn Alter, which was generously funded by the Abbot Association.
The students will perform sections of “A Choreographic Offering” originally created by Limón in 1948 and a new work created for five dancers by Alter. Judith Wombwell, instructor in dance, said, “The format of this program reflects the vision of Artistic Director Carla Maxwell who strives to honor the past while taking the company forward into new choreographic directions.”
Wombwell also called this particular performance “very special and unusual” in that student dancers rarely have the opportunity to share the stage with professional dancers at such a young age. She also expressed enthusiasm for the historic nature of the event, where professionals “can pass on both tradition and technique that come straight from the foundation of American modern dance.” The Limón Dance Company is recognized as one of the finest repertory dance ensembles in the world.
The program also includes a new work choreographed by Wombwell, director of the Andover Dance Group, which she describes as “ a whimsical collage of movement exploring individual peace.” She said the dancers contributed much of the choreography thrpugh structured exercises. The work features 19 Andover dance students, whom Wombwell characterized as “a particularly gifted group this year.” They are Gen Clark ’08, Megumi Ishizuka ’09, Margaret Finch ’09, Jessica Frey ’09, Kiara Brereton ’09, Sayer Mansfield ’10, Sumi Matsumoto ’11, Oscar Manzo ’08, Marianna Jordan ’09, Maura Tousignant ’09, Farah Dahya ’09, Miguel Taverez ’08, Carolyn Calabrese ’09, Georgia Pelletier ’11, Stephanie Green ’09, Carolyn Harmeling ’11, Jacqueline Hall ’08, Jennifer Chew ’10, and Carolyn Whittingham ’11.
The dance performance is sponsored by the visiting artists program of the Bernard and Mildred Kayden Fund.
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