Dance concert this weekend

The Skidmore Spring Dance Concert, featuring a program of works choreographed by guest artists and Skidmore faculty, is scheduled Friday and Saturday, April 22 and 23, in the Skidmore Dance Theater.

Performances are scheduled at 8 p.m. each day with a 2 p.m. matinee on Saturday. Tickets are $5 for seniors and students, $10 for adults. Tickets may be purchased reserved online or by calling 518-580-5392.

The program features works choreographed by guest artists Xan Burley and Alex Springer (Doug Varone and Dancers), Caitlin Trainor '97 and Kaitlyn Gilliland (Twyla Tharp dancer), and Skidmore faculty members Debra Fernandez, Mary Harney, Denise Warner Limoli and Erika Pujič.
 
Trainor and Gilliland will perform a duet titled "Right Now, Right this Minute Today," providing a glimpse into the daily lives of the artists through the conversation of friends. Trainor is artistic director of Trainor Dance and Gilliland dances with Twyla Tharp and will perform at SPAC this summer.
 
Other program highlights include "Marsh," choreographed by Burley and Springer (who will be in residence at Skidmore this summer) in collaboration with the senior dancers, features live music played by Carl Landa, director of music for the Dance Department. The piece explores an environment that continuously goes from chaos to order.
 
The "Battleworks Etude" choreographed by Robert Battle and staged and directed by Erika Pujič is a powerful tour de force that includes movement elements from four of Battle's signature works, "Flock," "Jewel Lost," "The Hunt" and "Rush Hour," representing the early years of Battleworks Dance Company (2000–10).

Debra Fernandez choreographed a high-octane quartet that never stops moving. "Internal Combustion" plays with the buildup of energy that erupts into ever-changing partnerships and patterns.
 
"Pearl," a new work by Mary Harney, suggests things we cannot see that live beneath the surface. Set to the music of Lou Harrison, the piece is ever-changing.
 
The Classical Ballet Workshop will perform three dances from Swan Lake, Act III: "Neapolitan Tarantella," "Russian Dance," and "Waltz of the Princesses" choreographed by Denise Warner Limoli. In this act, Prince Siegfried come of age and is expected to choose a bride. Princesses from neighboring kingdoms arrive with their entourages, and perform the national dances of their homelands. Unknown to anyone, Siegfried has already fallen in love with Odette, the Queen of the Swan maidens. He dances with each of the princesses but refuses to choose any of them.
 
"Peculiar Caravan," a new work by Pujič with original music composed by Landa, takes you on a journey that is mysterious, complex, simple, fast-paced and furious. Throughout this journey, the cast of 19 dancers seeks to find the balance between control and abandon.