dANCEpROjECt will present its annual fall season of dance on Thursday-Saturday Oct. 28-30 at 8 p.m. at Hope College at the Knickerbocker Theatre in downtown Holland.

This year's program consists of five new works.

° "Grain of Sand," a ceremonial movement piece marking the passage of time and space, community, conflict, separation and reunion, features guest artist Bill Sallak playing a commissioned, original sound score. Sallak, who is an assistant professor and dance music director at KentState, is an international performer and composer who explores the primal nature of percussive instruments and their collision with cutting-edge technology. His work has been presented at the 2010 InterMedia Festival of Telematic Arts, the Cultura UNAM Festival (Mexico City), the World Congress on Dance Research (Athens), and many other national and international venues.  Sallak will also perform "Temazcal," a percussion solo featuring maracas, by Javier Alvarez.

° "Into the Night" is a piece about emerging from one world into another and an exploration of different movement qualities through which the dancers create a vibrant world that is both immediate and reflective.

° "Yucuninu" is a ritualized, physical expression of pleading for strength and hope in a time of adversity.  "Yucuninu" has been adapted from its original solo form and the company will offer three different interpretations over the three nights of performances: a female solo, a female trio, and a male trio.

° "Into the Night" and "Yucuninu" have been choreographed by Alicia Díaz and Matthew Thornton, who now join Steven Iannacone to share the company leadership as artistic directors.

° "Jericho," by Iannacone, is an ensemble piece for all 17 dancers, with movement based on the examination of the spiritual, historical and political context of the biblical Jericho story and the idea of barriers that limit or define human interaction and behavior.  "Jericho" features a massive, 34-foot wall, built specially for the piece by company technical director Erik Alberg, which challenges the dancers to work against a solid vertical plane.

° "Four Nudes Descending a Staircase of Futuristic Trains to Avignon via Bombay...," choreographed by a group of Hope College alumni and based on ideas of trains, travel and arriving in a new place, will round out the fall concert program.

The lobby will open at 7 p.m. on performance nights, and in conjunction with the concerts will feature a costume sale, which is a feature scheduled in anticipation of Halloween.  In addition, audience members are invited to a "question-and-answer" discussion session with the dancers, artists and directors immediately following each performance.

The concert program has been funded by the Hope College Patrons for the Arts, Hope College Cultural Affairs Committee and Agua Dulce Dance Theater.

Tickets are available in the ticket office in the main lobby of the DeVos Fieldhouse, and cost $7 for general admission and $5 for senior citizens and students, and are free for children under 12.  The ticket office is open weekdays from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. and may be called at (616) 395-7890.

Tickets will also be sold at the door on performance nights.

The Knickerbocker Theatre is located at 86 E. Eighth St.