Embracing the departmental theme of female-driven works, the dance program will open its season with the choreographers investigating personal, historical, and influential perspectives. Each choreographer will have a chance to tell her story in what should be an exciting and poignant concert.

Guest Artist Tara Madsen Robbins spent the last weekend in August restaging her piece “Breaking Ground” on a cast of ten dancers. A challenging and physically demanding work, the piece showcases the strength of the all-female cast as they move through levels, spatial patterns, and partner work. Additionally, two of the pieces are being created in collaboration. The College’s dance program director Gretchen McLaine and senior dance major Carly Harward are collaborating on “Les Paignes,” a piece based on research they conducted this summer while at the Spoleto Festival in Italy, for which they received a Summer Undergraduate Research Fund (SURF) grant. Erin Leigh, dance faculty, and faculty member Joy Vandervort-Cobb, are creating a new work inspired by the novel “The Invention of Wings.” This piece includes a set by faculty member Paul Collins, projections by alumna Maggie Bailey, and costume design by student Chelsea Taborn.

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DETAILS: The performance will run at 7:30 p.m., from Oct. 14-17, 2015 and will take place at the Emmett Robinson Theatre in the Simons Center for the Arts, 54 Saint Philip St. Tickets are $20 for the general public; $15 for senior citizens, College of Charleston employees and non-College of Charleston students; and $12 for College of Charleston students. Tickets and season subscriptions can be purchased online at theatre.cofc.edu, by emailing oleksiakm@cofc.edu, or by calling (843) 953-6306.

(Online season brochure is linked here.)