Celebrating Cry-i-i-ing
The National College Dance Festival has invited a quintet of Kenyon student dancers to perform Cry-i-i-ing on May 27 in Washington, D.C.
The dance, choreographed by Kora Radella, visiting assistant professor of dance, will be seen at the Terrace Theater in the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts. The American College Dance Festival Association event, on May 25-27, features college dance performances chosen for artistic excellence at 11 regional conferences. Kenyon is among 30 colleges and universities represented.
Kenyon's dancers include Hannah Beckerman of Upper Montclair, N.J.; Matthew Davis of Cranberry Township, Pa.; Eden Deering of Brooklyn, N.Y.; Adrian Galvin, Bedford Hills, N.Y.; and Robby Letzler of Atlanta.
This is the second consecutive invitation for Kenyon dancers to the biennial gala. "This festival is the highest honor for college-level dance in the United States," said Balinda Craig-Quijada, associate professor of dance. "To have dances from Kenyon chosen for the past two national festivals indicates that dance at Kenyon is to be taken seriously. It puts Kenyon dance on the map."
Radella, also the artistic director for the dance-and-music-company Double-Edge Dance, described Cry-i-i-ing as a quintet that "embodies the human need for one another and acknowledges that everyone is also alone." Set to music for piano by Franz Schubert and Roy Orbison's lovelorn song Crying, the piece carries "a sense that the dancers discover an integral part of themselves - the capacity to feel, appreciate, and grow only through another," Radella said.
Cry-i-i-ing was one of three dances selected for the national event at the East-Central American College Dance Conference at Grand Valley State University. A judge there, KT Niehoff, artistic director of Lingo Production of Seattle, said of Cry-i-i-ing, "Humans. Thank you." Another judge, Patrick Corbin, artistic director of Corbindances of New York City, characterized the quintet's style as "dirty, hipster, chic."
To buy tickets and to learn more about the National College Dance Festival, visit www.acdfa.org.