InSync Dance Theatre, Michigan's only professional tap and jazz company, will present its annual concert at Hope College on Friday and Saturday, Jan. 23-24, at 8 p.m. at the Knickerbocker Theatre in downtown Holland.
InSync Dance Theatre, Michigan's only professional tap and jazz company, will present its annual concert at Hope College on Friday and Saturday, Jan. 23-24, at 8 p.m. at the Knickerbocker Theatre in downtown Holland.
InSync Dance Theatre, which presented its first full concert in 1998, is an affiliate of the college's department of dance. The program will include a mix of old favorites and premieres.
The concert will open with "At Play," choreographed by Dawn McIlhargey-Wigert, co-founder of InSync, and performed to music by Dave Brubeck.The program will continue with "Irish Jig," choreographed by Don Smith of Grand Rapids and re-staged by Rosanne Barton-DeVries of the Hope dance faculty. Barton-DeVries is also presenting "Fitting Out" to the music of Bobby McFerrin, which is a rhythmic study exploring the powerful influence groups exert in shaping behavior and conversely the power of individuals to affect group order.
Guest choreographer and company co-founder, Terri Filips, associate professor of theatre at Niagara University in New York, premieres "Ain't Love a Kick," a solo performed by Hope junior Mari Stuppy of Dowagiac to a Sammy Davis Jr. tune. She also is presenting "Remote Control," which InSync premiered last season, about the zany upbeat struggle to control the television remote.
Another work choreographed by Filips is titled "Bedtime Stories." The piece premiered last spring at Niagara and shows three childhood realities: the adored child, the abandoned child and the abused child. The InSync dancers have partnered with Women in Transition of Holland to raise awareness and support against domestic violence.
Junior Dolores Sanchez of Whiting, Ind., has choreographed "En Labrega," a modern tap number challenging what people call "tap" by incorporating modern movement with rhythm.
Guest artist Mark Yonally of Chicago, Ill., has choreographed a tap piece titled "Dance Between the Raindrops" on the company and will also be performing a tap solo. He is artistic director of Chicago Tap Theatre and has numerous performance credits, and is also an international teacher. He has taught at festivals including Sole to Soul, the New Mexico Tap Festival and the Maui Tap Extravaganza, as well as in Paris, Nurnburg and Toulouse, among other European and American cities. He taught at Hope in May of 2003, and will be featured during the college's Dance 30 concert in March.
The InSync concert will close with a jazz piece choreographed and performed by the company.
Tickets for the Jan. 23-24 concerts will be available at the Knickerbocker Theatre box office one hour before show time. Tickets are $7 for regular adult admission and $5 for senior citizens.
The Knickerbocker Theatre is located in downtown Holland at 86 E. 8th St.