The Department of Theater and Dance and the Department of
Music at Indiana University of Pennsylvania will present An Evening of Story Legends In Music and Dance. This collaborative
production will be performed on Saturday, November 1, 2014, at 7:00 p.m. in
Fisher Auditorium of IUP’s Performing Arts Center.
Co-directed by IUP director of bands Jack Stamp and IUP
Dance Theater director Holly Boda-Sutton, the
performance includes two historic ballets—Igor Stravinsky’s L’Histoire du Soldat (The Soldier’s Tale) and Aaron Copland’s
Appalachian Spring.
L’Histoire du Soldat is
based on a dark Russian fairy tale of a naive soldier who trades his
fiddle—representing his soul—to the devil for a book that will grant his wishes
for wealth. When the soldier realizes that he has traded happiness for wealth,
he tries to reclaim his old life. The world premiere was performed in
Switzerland in 1918, and the first ballet version in the U.S. premiered at Lincoln
Center’s New York State Theater in 1978 by the New York City Opera.
Appalachian Spring as
a ballet was made famous through the choreography of legendary
choreographer/dancer Martha Graham. The original ballet premiered 70 years ago on
October 30, 1944, by the Martha Graham Dance Company; and the score earned
Copland a Pulitzer Prize in 1945. Graham’s version of the ballet tells the
story of a young pioneer bride and groom as they begin their lives in the
Appalachian region. The IUP Dance Theater’s version juxtaposes the original
story into present-day rural Western Pennsylvania.
Stamp will conduct the instrumental
ensemble comprised of faculty and student musicians, including Stanley
Chepaitis, Rosemary Brumbelow, Jason Worzbyt, Kevin Eisensmith, Christian
Dickinson, Irvin Kauffman, Carl Rahkonen, Linda Jennings, Jacob Ertl, Therese
Wacker, and Michael Kingan. Choreography is by Holly Boda-Sutton with costumes
designed by Lori Miller.
Tickets for An Evening of Story Legends In Music
and Dance are
available in advance at the Hadley Union Building and online.
Seats remaining will be sold at the door starting one hour prior to the
performance. Tickets may also be purchased with a credit card by calling the
HUB Box Office at 724-357-1313.
General
admission tickets are priced at $15 for regular admission, $12 for senior
citizens and groups of 15 or more, and $10 for students and children.
For more information, contact the Lively Arts at 724-357-2787
or e-mail lively-arts@iup.edu.
IUP Dance Theater is produced by the Department of Theater and Dance and the College of Fine Arts. It is funded, in part, by the IUP Student Cooperative Association.