dANCEpROjECt will celebrate its sixth annual fall season with six performances at the Knickerbocker Theatre in downtown Holland on Friday and Saturday, Oct. 26 and 27, and Friday and Saturday, November 2 and 3.
Evening performances on all four dates start at 8 p.m. and special Saturday-afternoon “Family Affair” matinees start at 2 p.m.
This season will feature the 17 dANCEpROjECt company members sharing the evening programs with guest company HAPPENDANCE from Lansing.
HAPPENDANCE is a professional company of dancers, choreographers and teachers known for their original concerts, innovative school programs and outstanding instruction in which dance is emphasized as an element of life experience and learning. Long active in the Lansing community the company is supported by the Michigan Council for Arts and Cultural Affairs and the Arts Council of Greater Lansing. The company’s appearance this season is co-produced by the Hope College Patrons for the Arts.
This season also marks the return of the “Family Affair” matinee, a free-admission event that encourages families with children, youngsters, seniors and community members with limited resources to attend live theater and dance. Featured on the afternoon program will be “Helix,” a moving landscape of beings encased in cocoon like fabric; “…sur la table…,” based on the dynamics that happen around the family table; and “Mit Kron und Schweif” (With Crown and Tail) a “fairytale” of contemporary dance based on the poem “Erlkonig” by Goethe. “Mit Kron und Schweif,” featuring German music and lyrics, was choreographed by company member Helen Gay and co-produced by the Cultural Affairs Committee of Hope College.
The evening program will present alternating pieces from the two companies featuring pieces in keeping with the Halloween season. dANCEpROjECt will open with “Possessed,” an ominous three-section work, followed by HAPPENDANCE’s dark abstract piece “Wake,” danced with beds and referencing nightmares, which was recently performed at Live Arts in New York City.
The second act will open with “…sur la table…” (dANCEpROjECt), which explores the traditions, dynamics and community that happen around the family table, followed by “Falling Lessons” (HAPPENDANCE), which examines a soloist’s fear of failure.
The third act features HAPPENDANCE’s funny and poignant “Chew it up, spit it out,” recently performed at Triskelion Arts in New York City, and dANCEpROjECt’s full 17-company-member “Out of the Ash,” set to Aaron Copland’s rousing Americana themed music to complete the program.
A costume sale will also take place in the Knickerbocker Theatre to help with the holiday spirit. Costumes from past Hope College dance and theater productions will be available at minimal cost for “trick-or-treaters” in need of a fun look.
Tickets for the full-length evening shows are $10 for regular admission, $7 for senior citizens and Hope staff, and $5 for children and Hope students. Admission is free to both “Family Affair” matinees.
Tickets are on sale at the ticket office in the main lobby of the DeVos Fieldhouse, which is open weekdays from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., and can be called at (616) 395-7890. Public tickets are also available for purchase online at https://tickets.hope.edu/ticketing. Tickets will also be sold at the door.
The DeVos Fieldhouse is located at 222 Fairbanks Avenue, between Ninth and 11th streets. The Knickerbocker Theatre is located in downtown Holland at 86 E. Eighth St.