MFA Dance Thesis Concert: Way In

MFA Dance Thesis Concert

Way In
December 6 & 7, 2013
Way In
Photo by Zachary Z. Handler
Principal People: 

Choreographer Jessie Laurita-Spanglet

Special Announcement: 

Due to another event on campus, we expect parking to be difficult on the afternoon of Saturday, December 7. Please allow extra travel time​ and plan on arriving early for the 3PM performance.

Event Attributes

Estimated Length: 
35 minutes with no intermission
Program Notes: 

Where and from whom do our daily habits derive? How do we get stuck in patterns that we can’t see? Why are habitual patterns often cyclical?

In Way In, Jessie Laurita-Spanglet will explore the nature of our physical habits, and how those habits relate to our emotional patterns. The episodic piece will seek to expand on the traditional relationship between the performer and the audience member, engaging both in a shared sensory experience.

Dancers and audience alike will move through several different surroundings during the course of the evening — a creative approach to site-specific choreography in keeping with site-specific curriculum that is part of the MFA in Dance program.

Choreographer Laurita-Spanglet wants to “create an immersive theatrical experience allowing the audience to occupy the space with the performers and involve themselves in the show in a way that a typical audience cannot. … By pushing the boundaries of a traditional performance venue, and engaging with the audience in a non-traditional way, my show explore[s] unusual vantage points, perspective and depth of audience engagement.”

Preview by The Gazette

“[‘Way In’ is created] from everyday gestures, movement, and it’s to show the beauty of those gestures,” [choreographer Jessica Laurita-Spanglet] said.

– VIRGINIA TERHUNE, The Gazette, December 5, 2013