Ten student choreographers are behind all of the works in "Arial Moves," UNM's biannual student dance concert opening tomorrow night.
Two of these students, Andrea Muehl and Michele Torino, choreographed pieces that focus on duality and contradiction.
Muehl, choreographer of "Inner Monday," said her piece is about "finding individuality in a city among thousands of people." Muehl's group of seven dancers use Jack Johnson's song "It's All Understood" paired with modern dance movements in an effort to portray "the contradiction between who you are in a group and who you are separately," she said.ˇThrough this piece, the group wants to explore "the common ground we all have with the needs of happiness and success," she said.
Although Muehl and Torino's pieces use movements from modern dance to convey messages about contradictory forces, Torino's piece "Red Apples" follows a different narrative. Set to the music of the Tin Hat Trio, an improvisational string trio from San Francisco, "Red Apples" is about the personal transformation of a character she calls the Heroine. The dance depicts the classic story of the devil and the angel sitting on your shoulder, Torino said.
The group designed specific movements to polarize these two characters. The devil uses "sharp-edged, angry and aggressive" movements, while the angel is "nurturing and omniscient," she said.ˇIn this piece, the angel protects the Heroine from the demands of the devil. This allows the Heroine to make peace with the dual forces.
Both students have a lot of experience in their field. Muehl, who has been dancing since she was four years old, is working on her bachelor's degree in dance, while Torino is in the MFA program for dance with an emphasis in choreography. They have choreographed other pieces for the student dance concert in previous years.
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Muehl enjoyed being able to use the skills that she learned this semester. She said she enjoys being a choreographer because it allows her to be "more involved in the process than the product."
With her piece "Red Apples," Torino is trying to create a more collaborative process.
"I wanted the dance to truly come from the dancers," she said.
She worked with her dancers in order to create artistic movement out of natural movement. The group used an open process and developed each movement through rehearsal. She also hopes to vary her style by bringing humor into her vision of modern dance.
This is the first year the choreographers were assigned department advisers for their pieces.
"It was very helpful to have the guarantee that someone with professional knowledge would be looking at the pieces and giving feedback," Muehl said.
Torino also saw the advisement as productive and said her adviser, Eva Encinias-Sandoval, was "very supportive of character development." Torino appreciated the passion that Encinias-Sandoval brought with her to the criticisms of her piece.
There is no charge for admission to "Arial Moves," but donations will be accepted for the Friends of Dance, the scholarship program. The performance will include a variety of pieces, ranging from funny to serious, and many forms of modern dance and hip-hop.
The What, When and Where
What: 'Arial Moves'
When: Tomorrow & Saturday 7 p.m.,
Sunday 6 p.m.
Price: Free
Where: Carlisle Gym
Tickets and info: 277-2441
