FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
CONTACT: Sarah Snyder
ssnyder3@umd.edu
301.405.8151
College Park, MD— Choreographer Erin Crawley-Woods creates a tapestry of movement and sound in her site-specific work, Visible Seams, October 9-16 at 6:30 pm. Presented by the School of Theatre, Dance, and Performance Studies, Visible Seams is Crawley-Woods’ MFA Dance Thesis Concert and will take place throughout the corridors, courtyards and staircases of the Clarice Smith Performing Arts Center at UMD. The piece features the talent of both undergraduate and graduate dancers.
In addition to the performances, there will be a sound installation by Tomek Regulski in the Grand Pavilion of the Center in the two weeks leading up to the performance and a video installation by Rob Denton in the two weeks following the performance.
Why Site-Specific?
Audiences will travel throughout the Clarice Smith Performing Center during the performance of Visible Seams. Inspired by the films of Busby Berkeley, one of the greatest choreographers of the American movie musical, Crawley-Woods says, “It was the staircases in the lobby of the Clarice Smith Center that gave me that inspiration as they reminded me of the grand sets in some of Berkeley’s musical numbers. So from the beginning Visible Seams has been inspired by this site. It has therefore been important to me to keep it situated there and to make something that is truly specific to this building, something that could not be performed in this way anywhere else. I have been able to incorporate the architecture – staircases, balconies, long corridors, windows – to create shifting perspectives and angles for the audience, in a sense to choreograph their journey and view of the space and dancers much as Berkeley did with the camera.”
About Erin Crawley-Woods
Erin Crawley-Woods arrived at the University of Maryland, College Park in 2011 as an MFA Dance Candidate and Graduate Assistant. From 2007-2011 she was a Repertory Company member and Director of Community Outreach at Keshet Dance Company in Albuquerque, New Mexico. During that time she created curriculum guides for teachers integrating arts and performance into the classroom, coordinated community dance programs and managed the on-going development of Keshet’s nationally recognized Outreach Dance Program for Incarcerated Youth. In addition, she taught creative movement for young children, pre-professional dance training for teens and physically integrated dance for all ages. In 2006, she completed the Wholistic Bodywork program at the New Mexico Academy of Healing Arts and is a licensed member of the National Certification Board for Therapeutic Massage and Bodywork and Thai Healing Alliance International. Prior to relocating to New Mexico, Erin lived and worked in New York City where from 2002-2005, she was company manager for PEARSONWIDRIG DANCETHEATER. She has performed in the US and abroad with the Nancy Meehan Dance Company, Leslie Satin & Dancers, Sara Rudner & Company, Australian choreographer Russell Dumas, and the Irish Modern Dance Theater. Erin received her B.A. in theatre, dance and French from Sarah Lawrence College in 2001.
Tickets
More information can be found on our website. The performance is free, but day-of registration is required, and can be reserved online.
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Located on the University of Maryland campus and a part of the College of Arts and Humanities, the School of Theatre, Dance, and Performance Studies (TDPS) is a dynamic community of artist-scholars who advance and transform the research and practice of their art forms. The School is committed to collaboration, innovation and entrepreneurship. TDPS, the School of Music and Michelle Smith Performing Arts Library share a space within the Clarice Smith Performing Arts Center, a premier presenting arts venue and collaborative laboratory for professional artists, teachers and students, serving the university and community.