SRJC PRESENTS ANNUAL DANCE PERFORMANCE: Piece Work, May 13-15, 2011

Santa Rosa Junior College’s annual spring dance performance,Piece Work, will showcase new dance works created by college faculty, student choreographers and artist-in- residence Melecio Estrella. Evening performances will be held on the Santa Rosa campus in Burbank Auditorium at 8:00 p.m. on Friday, May 13 and Saturday, May 14, 2011, with matinee performances at 2:00 p.m. on Saturday, May 14 and Sunday, May 15, 2011. Advance tickets to Piece Work are $15 General, $12 Students and Seniors, and are available at the SRJC Box Office in Burbank Auditorium on the Santa Rosa campus, Wednesday through Friday from 12:30 to 4:30 p.m. Tickets may also be purchased at the door are for $17 General and $14 for Students and Seniors. The 2:00 pm show on Saturday, May 14 is a bargain matinee performance; tickets are $8 in advance and $10 at the door for all attendees. To order tickets by phone, call 527-4343 or purchase tickets online at www.santarosa.edu/theatrearts. All dances in Piece Work are inspired by a work of visual art or poetry of each choreographer’s choosing. The choreographers for Piece Work were selected through a rigorous adjudication process, and include faculty choreographers Lara Branen, Michele Camozzi, Susan Matthies, Carrie Stillman and Lea Poisson. One of the featured pieces was created for selected SRJC dancers by artist-in-residence Estrella. A Sonoma County native and current member of the Joe Goode Company and Project Bandaloop, Estrella combines dance and theatre that includes spoken text and songs.

MISSION STATEMENT

Dance, as an academic discipline, encompasses the elements of dance as a performing art, as well as the science of dance as movement. The mission of the dance program is to promote dance as a medium of communication and expression uniquely effective in the conveyance of meaning, emotion and cultural values. The mission is also to train dancers in sound dance techniques so their bodies are effective instruments for this artistic expression. The techniques of the program increases students' level of physical fitness, coordination, and grace through dance training, and presents dance as a rigorous and specialized area of the performing arts, demanding a high level of physical preparation as well as a thorough understanding of aesthetics.

The Dance mission includes the following objectives:

1. Creating an environment in which the general student population may experience dance as a means to enhance physical fitness and wellness, understand and appreciate other cultures and periods of history, interact cooperatively with men and women of various ages and cultural/ethic backgrounds, and learn aesthetics
2. Preparing dance students to transfer as dance majors to public state and private colleges and universities
3. Providing preparation for careers in dance including the areas of choreography, dance performance and dance instruction
4. Maintaining diversity of instruction and course offerings

Check back here for information on the Dance Certificate Program