The Spellbound Contemporary Ballet, Italy’s leading modern troupe, comes to campus Oct 21-23 as part of the Theater and Dance Department’s annual Stephanie C. Davis Dance Residency.
The Rome-based company, launched in 1994, is known for its dancers’ virtuosity and magnificent technique. Artistic Direction Mauro Astoffi has developed a style that favors versatility, strength and great athleticism. The troupe has dazzled international audiences from Cyprus to Serbia.
At Union, a master class for dance students will be held Wednesday, Oct. 21, and a lecture/demonstration with co-founder Valentina Marini (open to the Union community), is scheduled for Thursday, Oct. 22. Both events will take place in the Henle Dance Studio, 6:30-8 p.m.
On Friday, Oct. 23, 8 p.m., the company will give a public performance at The Egg theater, Empire State Plaza, Albany. An informal pre-talk with Marini in the lobby at 7:15 p.m. will offer an opportunity to learn more about the company and its experimental research of dance movement and physical expression.
A limited number of tickets to the Egg performance are free for Union faculty, students and staff with a Union ID. Free round-trip bus transportation also will be provided. Buses leave from the Nott/Seward parking lot at 7 p.m. and return to campus after the performance.
Tickets to the performance are available on a first-come, first-serve basis. They can be picked up at the Yulman Theater Box Office weekdays 12:30-2:30 p.m.
The show at The Egg will include Lost for Words, She is on the ground, Small Crime and Controfase. To see the company’s exquisite, innovative dance style, visit www.Spellboundance.com.
Now in its eighth year, the Stephanie C. Davis Dance Residency is made possible by a generous gift from Sue and Gus Davis ’59, in memory of their daughter, who was a modern dancer and environmental activist with a lifelong love of the performing arts.