UB Department of Music, Theatre and Dance to Present Dance and Percussion: A Whirlwind of Sight and Sound

BUFFALO, N.Y. -- The departments of Theatre and Dance and Music at the University at Buffalo will present "Dance and Percussion" at 8 p.m. on March 6 in the Mainstage theater in the Center for the Arts on the UB North (Amherst) Campus.

This exciting, cutting-edge, collaborative production is sponsored by a grant received from the Interdisciplinary Research and Creative Activities Fund. Tressa Gorman Crehan, co-director of the dance program, and Anthony Miranda, director of percussion studies, will serve as concert directors for this large-scale fusion of dance and percussion.

Students from the UB Percussion Ensemble and UB Dance Program will perform works ranging in style from Red Norvo's "Rag Suite," to the Tarantella, to contemporary compositions by Anthony Miranda. Guest choreographers for the concert include: Terri Filips, Karen Georger and Thomas Ralabate, as well as Crehan. Alessandra Belloni, world-renowned hand drummer and expert in traditional Italian songs and dance, will be a special guest performer.

The concert will open with the explosive sounds of Miranda's "Overture," accompanied by Crehan's choreographic work "American Landscapes." Guest Director Magnus Mårtensson will direct this textural work performed by Miranda and members of the UB Percussion Ensemble. Ralabate has brought a whimsical vision to Red Norvo's "Rag Suite," a composition featuring xylophone, marimba, and piano. Ralabate has shaped a fun, playful work using American social dance, giving a feeling of days gone by, but with a fresh twist.

The concept and impetus of this collaboration is to explore the relationship of dance and percussion in American culture. The concert will conclude with an original work by Crehan and Miranda -- "Human Percussion." The tables are turned in the creative finale -- percussionists provide the movement and the dancers become the instruments.

The program is sponsored by: Interdisciplinary Research and Creative Activities Fund.

Tickets are $10 general admission and $5 for students and seniors. Tickets are available from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday through Friday in the Center for the Arts Box Office and all Ticketmaster locations, including Kaufmann's. To charge tickets, call 852-5000; in Canada, call 1-416-870-8000. For group sales, call 645-6771.For more information, call 645-ARTS. The Center for the Arts is a TicketFast location.