The Purchase Dance Company is Purchase College’s resident student troupe – which belies its professional caliber. This year, the company presents its Spring Concert, with pieces by four must-see choreographers, April 25 through 27 at the college’s Performing Arts Center.
“It is very gratifying to give more than 80 of our tremendously talented students, especially our graduating seniors, an opportunity to perform works by such exceptional artists,” says Wallie Wolfgruber, director of the Conservatory of Dance and artistic director of the Purchase Dance Company. “We are also thrilled to present such a diverse program to local audiences.”
The program features “Lux,” the restaging of a major work by Doug Varone, a Purchase College alumni and award-winning choreographer and director. Varone has choreographed widely for dance, theater and opera—including Broadway shows and The Metropolitan Opera. He has been honored with a Guggenheim Fellowship, two Bessie Awards, and four National Dance Project awards—and his own company has performed in more than 100 cities worldwide. Varone received a BFA from Purchase College, where he was awarded the President’s Distinguished Alumni Award in 2007.
The Spring Concert also includes:
- “Dissolves,” by Purchase faculty member Rosalind Newman, who is the winner of a Guggenheim Fellowship;
- “How We Are Hungry,” a new work created specifically for Conservatory of Dance students by Purchase alumni Gregory Dolbashian, voted one of “25 to Watch in 2013” by Dance Magazine;
- An excerpt of “As It’s Going,” a ballet by sought-after choreographer Matthew Neenan, whose choreography has been performed internationally by major ballet companies.
Performances are 8 p.m. Friday, April 25, 2 and 8 p.m. Saturday, April 26 and 2 p.m. Sunday, April 27. Tickets purchased online are $17.50 (general admission); $15.50 for senior citizens.
For tickets, please visit artscenter.org or call 914-251-6200. – Georgette Gouveia
