What could be more glorious than Paris in springtime?
Union dance students will transport audiences to the fabled city on the Seine at the Spring Dance Concert at Yulman Theater Thursday, May 23 through Sunday, May 26.
With a large cast, original choreography and live, acoustic music, “Paris Danse” highlights Parisian life from the 1880s through 1920s. Thirty performers – dancers, musicians, singers – have spent all term preparing for the event.
“With a French zest, Paris Danse will transport you into a myriad of scenes and images from La Belle Epoque to Les Années Folles (Roaring Twenties),” said the show’s creator, Dance Program Director Miryam Moutillet. “This original work reveals the Parisian life and artistic vibrancy of this extraordinary period.”
Inspired by old photography, paintings and the music of masters, the show is based on five tableaux, including the Opera House, the Moulin Rouge and Chez Bricktop, a jazz cabaret.
Among the numbers are “French Can-Can,” an ensemble piece by Moutillet and Instructor Marcus Rogers, set to music by Offenbach; Moutillet’s ballet, “Degas,” danced to music by Satie; a ballroom piece by Instructor Amber Woerner; and a 1920s jazz tableau with a Duke Ellington score.
There are three senior dance projects, including “Sous Le Ciel de Paris” a piece for three dancers created by Anna Finlay ’12 to music by the great French singer Edith Piaf.
Danielle Kreig ’12 will perform a solo she choreographed, and Krystle Gallo ’12 will dance in a sextet she created. Both use music by contemporary French musician Yann Tiersan.
There will be live music by guest artists Andy Iorio, musical director and piano player, and French accordionist Sylvain Payot. Joining them are Union singers Connor Barrett ’14, Alex Infante ’12, Emily Lnenicka ’12 and Sonika Raj ’13.
Professor of French Charles Batson is artistic collaborator. Brittney Belz is the show’s costume designer, lighting is by Robert Bovard, and Professor Charles Steckler “framed the inspirational artwork into a majestic décor,” said Moutillet.
Shows will be at 7:30 p.m. each evening, with a 2 p.m. matinee on Saturday, May 26. Tickets, now on sale at the Yulman Theater Box Office, are $7 with a Union ID and $10 for the general public. The box office is open Monday through Friday, from 12:30 p.m. to 1:30 p.m. For more information or reservations, call (518) 388-6545.