School of Dance MFA Candidate Presents: “Girl Moves”
January 18, 2020 7:30 p.m. at
926 Bar & Grille | 926 W. Tharpe Street, Tallahassee, FL 32303
Pre-show will begin at 7:30pm, doors open at 7:00pm
School of Dance MFA Candidate, Christa Williams, will present GIRL MOVES, in partial fulfillment of the Master of Fine Arts Degree in Dance, on January 18th, 2020 at 7:30 p.m. at 926 Bar & Grille located at 926 W. Tharpe Street, Tallahassee, FL 32303.
Eight women engage with the audience one by one in a series of solos, each one drawing you in and building tension with their own unique gaze and attitude. After the solos, all eight women collectively take the stage and dance to the live music of Boys Who Cry, a favorite, local Tallahassee band. The relationship of live music, choreography, and dancer/audience connection highlights the show’s core concept—the euphoric bliss of punk performance. The concert consists of choreography by Christa Williams in collaboration with her cast, which includes: E Alderman, Cailey Campbell, Sami Frost, Claudia Hillmann, EJ Jenkins, Lexi Mack, Megan Schutz, and Amanda Servidio. Live music by Boys Who Cry also contributed to the choreographic collaboration.
GIRL MOVES boldly stages femininity and explores the complexity of female identity through punk/new wave music and musicians, connecting these themes to current, pervasive gender constructs, like competitive dance. The work confronts what is “allowed” to be staged on and through the female body, and challenges those expectations by following the punk mantra to unapologetically break rules regarding gaze, attitude, and sexuality. These concepts are explored via a sequence of solos by each cast member to Beyoncé, Jay-Z, and Kanye West’s “Drunk In Love,” a group choreography set to a live performance of Boys Who Cry’s “Ruck All Night” and “PUNK,” and a final solo by Cailey Campbell to accompaniment by an unnerving 8-minute feedback loop. A preshow features local punk musician, Madison Dickmon, exploring similar themes through the art of pole dance.
Admission is FREE. Space is limited.
For more information about the concert or the School of Dance, call La Toya Davis-Craig at 850-645-2449 or via email at ldavis3@fsu.edu, or online at dance.fsu.edu. The School of Dance is part of the College of Fine Arts at The Florida State University.