Wright State’s Spring Dance Concert to feature premiere of four works

The annual Dance Concert on April 23-26 will feature the Wright State Dance Ensemble and guest performances by the Dayton Contemporary Dance Company II and Dayton Ballet II.

The Wright State Dance Ensemble will premiere four pieces and feature guest performances by two prominent Dayton dance companies during its annual Spring Dance Concert.

Performances take place in the Festival Playhouse in the Creative Arts Center on Thursday, April 23, at 7 p.m.; Friday and Saturday, April 24 and 25, at 8 p.m.; and Sunday, April 26, at 2 p.m.

Tickets range from $5 to $12 and can be ordered online or by calling the Theatre Box Office at (937) 775-2500.

Works span abstract to classical, athletic to emotional.

The concert includes premieres of three works by Wright State dance faculty: “Sitting on the Razor’s Edge,” choreographed by Teressa Wylie McWilliams, dance program coordinator and professor; “Dans I’instant” by associate professor Gina Walther; and “the fall before the stolen winter” by assistant professor Justin Gibbs.

It also features the premiere of “Zeppelin Moves” by guest choreographer Greg Graham, who created the work during his January residency. Graham is associate choreographer on Broadway’s “On the Town.” He has also choreographed Broadway shows of “Billy Elliot” and “Dirty Rotten Scoundrels” and performed in “Chicago” and “Fosse.”

The concert will also feature guest works by the Dayton Contemporary Dance Company II, Dayton Ballet II and senior dance major Mally Reber.

The Spring Dance Concert includes the premiere of three works by Wright State dance faculty and the premiere of “Zeppelin Moves” by guest choreographer Greg Graham.

Dance Intensive Workshop for high school students

Wright State will hold its annual Dance Intensive Workshop on Saturday, April 25, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. in the Creative Arts Center.

Open to students 14 and older, the workshop will teach technique classes on jazz, tap, modern, ballet, contemporary, musical theatre dance, hip-hop and lyrical.

Participating faculty members include Teressa Wylie McWilliams, Gina Walther, Justin Gibbs, Greg Hellems and Joe Deer.

The workshop costs $45. More information, including registration details, is available on the dance program website or by calling (937) 775-3792.