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Alberto “Tito” Del Saz, acclaimed dancer, teacher and choreographer, and artistic director of the Alwin Nikolais Foundation, will be teaching master classes for dance majors at DeSales University and Muhlenberg College the week of January 25. The culmination of their efforts will be performances at the Zoellner Arts Center at Lehigh University by dance majors from DeSales and Muhlenberg, and members of the Ririe-Woodbury Dance Company on February 5 and 6. View Rehearsals and performance schedule.
As part of the work in his master classes at both DeSales and Muhlenberg, Del Saz will be re-staging two pieces choreographed by the artistic genius and inspired American choreographer Alwin Nikolais (1910 -1993) with students from each school. Nikolais is considered a master of innovative and startling dance. His works are described as complete multimedia theater of abstraction with designed projections, sound, lighting, choreography and costumes that make the dance a visual and kinetic art.
The two significant pieces that Del Saz is re-staging for DeSales and Muhlenberg dance students are from different periods in Nikolais’s career. Muhlenberg students will perform “Crucible,” from 1985, one of his last works, and DeSales dance majors will perform “Tensile Involvement,” from 1955, one of his first works. The dance students from both schools will then join members of the Ririe-Woodbury Dance Company in performances on February 5 and 6.
For the first time in the United States, an existing dance company has absorbed the collection of a past master to preserve and present an artistic legacy, and to be part of the continuing movement to preserve America’s artistic heritage. The Ririe-Woodbury Dance Company was selected as the performing company to house Nikolais’s works, as part of its Nikolais Dance Theater.
Members of the community will have the opportunity to see artistry at work during upcoming rehearsals and performances, including:
- Tuesday, January 26, and Thursday, January 28, at DeSales, the rehearsal of Nikolais’s signature work, “Tensile Involvement,” will be held from 6:00 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. The rehearsal is open to the community free of charge.
- Wednesday, January 27, the rehearsal of Nikolais’s last work, “Crucible,” from 4:30 p.m. to 5:30 p.m., at Muhlenberg. A public lecture on the “Artistry of Alwin Nikolais” will be held from 7:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m. at DeSales. Both events are open to the community free of charge.
- Friday, February 5, at Zoellner Arts Center, Lehigh University, matinée performance of the acclaimed Ririe-Woodbury Dance Company, featuring students from DeSales and Muhlenberg.
- Saturday, February 6, at Zoellner Arts Center, Lehigh University, 8:00 p.m. performance of the Ririe-Woodbury Dance Company featuring DeSales and Muhlenberg students.
Look for these future Alwin Nikolais inspired performances by DeSales dance students:
- March 19-21 by the DeSales University Dance Ensemble, featuring faculty and guest artist work.
- April 15-16, 2011 at Hunter College in New York City.
For more information, please contact Tim Cowart, director of dance at DeSales University, at 610-282-1100, ext. 1663.
Press Release: Acclaimed Choreographer Alberto Del Saz Conducts Master Class for Dance Majors | Posted on: 1/26/2010
For more info:
Tom McNamara, Executive Director of Communications
DeSales University | 2255 Station Avenue | Center Valley, PA 18034
610.282.1100 x1219 | Tom.McNamara@desales.edu |
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