Contemporary Motions, the resident professional dance company of Hope College, returns to the Holland area for its annual residency and performances at the Knickerbocker Theatre on Friday and Saturday, April 7-8, at 8 p.m.

          Admission is $6 for regular adult admission, and
  $4 for senior citizens, students and children under 12 years
  of age.  Tickets will be available at the door the evening
  of the performances.
          The company will present an intimate evening
  performance featuring new surprises and some returning
  favorites, according to Julio Enrique Rivera, the company's
  founder and artistic director.  "Last year's attendance was
  a smashing success, and this year we are expecting an even
  more enthusiastic response from the many fans we have gained
  in our 10-year residency status," he said.
          Rivera is a senior member of the Hope dance
  faculty, and returns to the campus after successful tours
  throughout Europe and the United States.  Recently he
  received a "Lifetime Achievement Award" from his hometown of
  Moca, Puerto Rico, and was honored as a "Distinguished
  Artist" by Ballet Concierto de Puerto Rico.
          Rivera notes that he is excited to present his
  Contemporary Motions dance company to the area once again.  
          "Contemporary Motions celebrates 15 years," he
  said.  "The company is stronger than ever.  We expect to
  continue contributing to the arts at Hope College, the
  Holland and surrounding communities through our annual
  residency performances."
          "The residency performances offer many new
  variables coming together toward presenting another exciting
  evening of dance sprinkled with the magic Contemporary
  Motions is well known to deliver," Rivera said.  "Come share
  our varied visions of dance, and then go home with a
  wonderful feeling of having being transported to wondrous
  worlds."
          This season the company will present a world
  premiere of a work created at Hope.  Rivera noted that the
  duet, titled "Ebony Waters," has strong primal overtones and
  deals with the rising/birth of male and female forces.
          The company will also premiere the work "Muse Di
  Marmo," created last year for the students of Dance 25.  The
  work is presently part of the repertory of Ballet Concierto
  de Puerto Rico, the national classical company, and will
  tour to Taiwan, Beijing, Europe, and North, South and
  Central America.  The work was presented as part of the
  "Festival of Choreographers" in Puerto Rico in October of
  1999.  According to Rivera, the festival is highly
  recognized and organized to celebrate Caribbean
  choreographers that have made a mark in the international
  dance setting.
          Joining Rivera this season are:  Erica Lynn
  Nelson, Ana Ladas (Nono), Vraja Keilman and Jennifer
  Spalding.
          Erica Lynn Nelson, who made her debut with
  Contemporary Motions at last year's residency performances,
  returns after a year of dance in New York City.  Originally
  from Wisconsin, she graduated from the University of
  Wisconsin with degrees in history and dance.  She currently
  makes New York City her home, freelancing with various other
  dance companies when she is not dancing with Contemporary
  Motions.
          Ana Ladas (Nono) has been granted a special
  apprenticeship with Contemporary Motions from the Hogeschool
  voor de Kunsten Arnhem in the Netherlands, where she is a
  pre-professional student.  Like Rivera, she has studied
  psychology and dance.  Last fall she worked with him in a
  two-month technique/repertory project when he returned to
  teach at the school in Arnhem.  During the project, Rivera
  took a special interest in her work and suggested the idea
  of continuing to work closely under his tutelage.
          Vraja Keilman, also from the Netherlands, has been
  dancing since her early years.  She has also been granted
  special permission from her studies to join Rivera and his
  troop for this season's performances.  Vraja has studied
  with him in Amsterdam at the Amsterdam Theater School, where
  she is currently an honors student, and the Amsterdam Dance
  Center.
          Jennifer Spalding, a 1999 Hope graduate, returns
  for a special appearance with Contemporary Motions.  She
  will recreate her role in "Muse Di Marmo," which she
  performed during the Dance 25 performances in March of 1999.
  She is currently teaching jazz, modern and creative dance at
  the Precision Dance Academy in Brighton.