UB Department of Theatre and Dance Presents "Home and Away: A Virtual Dance Concert"

BUFFALO, N.Y. — UB Theatre and Dance is presenting a unique new dance project called “Home and Away: A Virtual Dance Concert.”

The project includes 50 dance majors in the undergraduate degree program - from freshman to seniors - as well as works and performances by MFA students.

“The show is in two formats,” explained Kerry Ring, co-artistic director and clinical associate professor. “The first format was created and filmed entirely remotely by individual dancers working from home, utilizing pre-approved indoor and outdoor locations around Buffalo. We refer to this process as, ‘Dance for Camera.’”

“’Dance for Camera’ is very much about each individual student creating and editing their own work digitally,” said Jeanne Fornarola, co-director and clinical associate professor. “It addresses the importance of the dancers learning new skills for a new age.”

“I think we're going to see a lot of Buffalo in the student videos, like Delaware Park and other familiar landmarks,” Fornarola added. “It will be interesting to see how the landscape and the architecture (of the city) becomes a part of the dance.”

The second format of the program is happening in the Department of Theatre and Dance’s laboratory spaces at the UB Center for the Arts Mainstage and Drama Theatre, where pieces were created with strict social distancing.

“Some are solo and duo works, with quartets being the largest grouping,” Ring explained. “In all cases our students are separated by (safety) partitions which can double as part of the set design. We’re practicing creativity through great restraint. The works will be captured and edited via a multi-camera shoot by the UB Production Group.”

In addition, Lynne Koscielniak, design technology professor and her students provide innovative lighting and scene designs to give the production the professional luster which audiences have come to associate with Theatre and Dance’s traditional stage productions.

In reference to the show title, “Home” is dance created and filmed in the traditional UB theaters, and “Away” refers to pieces individual students create remotely, resulting in an eclectic, mixed program stylistically, scenically and emotionally.

“It’s a great collaboration with dance faculty and students and our design technology counterparts in the department, to move dance into the digital age,” Ring said. “‘Dance for the Camera’ was already making its way in the field, and now it’s a whole new platform to reach audiences. This is a new form of art, and like everything else (related to Covid-19) it has opened up new opportunities for space and presentation. We’re encouraging young artists to speak their minds through their bodies.”

Ring and Fornarola both created choreography for “Home and Away,” along with clinical dance professor Jenna Del Monte Zavrel. Additional choregraphers include MFA dance students Jacquie Cherry, Meg Kirchoff, Kate Mackey and Phil Wackerfuss, as well as undergraduate students Stephanie Avila, Daniella Bertrand, Emma Colligan, Mandy McClenigan, Alexis Corletta, Homeria Lubin, Ally Mersereau, Sam Tilley and Kelsey Wegman.

Dates and Times:
Friday, Dec. 11 at 7:30 p.m.
Saturday, Dec. 12 at 7:30 p.m.

Location:
YouTube

Tickets:
Free with online pre-registration

General Information:
716-645-6897