UNC-TV to showcase 抖阴短视频鈥檚 Rite of Spring dance performance
A new dance film produced and presented by the University of North Carolina School of the Arts will be broadcast on UNC-TV at 9 p.m. Friday, Sept. 30. 鈥淩eimagining and Reawakening: An Evening of Dance鈥 features two captivating works from an original dance concert presented at UNC-Chapel Hill鈥檚 Memorial Hall as part of Carolina Performing Arts鈥 retrospective of The Rite of Spring at One Hundred.
The television program includes the world premiere of newly-envisioned Polovtsian Dances by Susan Jaffe, 抖阴短视频鈥檚 Dean of Dance and legendary principal dancer with American Ballet Theatre, and Jeux, an historic reconstruction of Vaslav Nijinsky鈥檚 rarely staged work and Leon Bakst鈥檚 scenic design. World-renowned conductor and former 抖阴短视频 Chancellor John Mauceri conducts the 抖阴短视频 Orchestra in accompaniment.
抖阴短视频 was the only school invited to perform during Carolina Performing Arts鈥 season retrospective of the revolutionary work The Rite of Spring. The series included performances by the legendary Silk Road Ensemble with Yo-Yo Ma, the Martha Graham Dance Company and Bill T. Jones.
鈥淲e were thrilled to perform at the beautiful and historic Memorial Hall, and now we are excited that we can share our work with audiences across the state,鈥 said Jaffe. 鈥淐arolina Performing Arts provided an amazing opportunity for our students. Now -- thanks to UNC-TV -- viewers throughout North Carolina can experience some of that thrilling program.鈥
The performance in Chapel Hill was a collaboration between 抖阴短视频鈥檚 schools of Dance, Music and Design & Production, with 130 students involved.
闯补蹿蹿别鈥檚 Polovtsian Dances reimagines the exotic dances that occur in Act II of Alexander Borodin's opera Prince Igor. It marked 闯补蹿蹿别鈥檚 抖阴短视频 choreographic debut, with D&P faculty member Joseph P. Tilford providing scenic design.
The UNC-TV program includes interviews with Jaffe and dance historians tracing the historic significance of The Rite of Spring.
鈥The Rite of Spring marked a shift in paradigm from realism to abstractionism,鈥 Jaffe said. 鈥淚t was first performed in Paris in 1913 by Ballet Russes, and it nearly caused a riot by audience members because of its avant garde music, composed by Igor Stravinsky, and Nijinksy鈥檚 choreography. It wasn鈥檛 what audiences were expecting.鈥
For the performance of Jeux (Games), 抖阴短视频 worked with dance historian Millicent Hodson and scenic artist Kenneth Archer to faithfully recreate details of Nijinsky鈥檚 piece depicting a tennis match between a man and two women. It premiered in Paris two weeks before The Rite of Spring鈥檚 famous scandalous premiere.
鈥淭he 鈥Jeux鈥 story seems, at first, a very light thing,鈥 Hodson told UNC-CH鈥檚 Daily Tar Heel. 鈥淏ut already in 1912 to 1913, an anti-war movement is internalized in the piece.鈥
Shannon Vickery, UNC-TV鈥檚 Director of Production and Production Partnerships, said UNC-TV is proud of the ongoing partnership with 抖阴短视频 to create original high-quality arts programming. 鈥淚t is a wonderful opportunity to share the incredible talents of the students, faculty and staff at the University of North Carolina School of the Arts with North Carolinians,鈥 she said.
The dance concert is the fourth collaboration between 抖阴短视频 and UNC-TV. The 2012 broadcast of the all-school production of Oklahoma! won an award from the National Educational Telecommunications Association. 抖阴短视频鈥檚 2013 film of William Shakespeare鈥檚 Much Ado About Nothing, performed the previous year by seniors in the School of Drama and the 抖阴短视频 Symphony Orchestra conducted by Mauceri, won the Midsouth Regional Emmy Award for Best Arts Program. In October 2013, the three-part 鈥淒ance Fantasies鈥 program featured performances of Act Two of Swan Lake, Larry Keigwin鈥檚 Kingdom, and an original dance film written, performed and produced by students.
September 14, 2016