What: New Choreographers Concert: Unspoken Realities, a showcase of original dance works created by advanced choreography students in the Department of Dance and Theatre at the University of North Texas, directed by Shelley Cushman.
When: 8 p.m. Dec. 1-2 (Friday-Saturday) and 2 p.m. Dec. 3 (Sunday)
Where: University Theater inside the Radio, Television, Film and Performing Arts Building, 1179 Union Circle, Denton, Texas.
Cost: Tickets cost $5. Audience members can purchase tickets at the box office, which is open from 1 to 5 p.m. Monday-Friday and one hour before each performance at the Radio, Television, Film and Performing Arts Building. For more information, call 940-565-2428, email dat-boxoffice@unt.edu or visit the Department of Dance and Theatre online.
More information: Visit UNT’s transportation services website to learn more about parking, including new rules. Patrons have two options for parking:
1.) ADA/handicapped patrons may park directly east of the Radio, Television, Film and Performing Arts Building (RTFP) in Lot 50 in the designated spaces.
2.) Patrons may pay to park through the app ParkMobile in the Union Circle Parking Garage.
Media: Watch videos – Andrea Allen: https://youtu.be/-4UCi9XefFs
Amy Hoang: https://youtu.be/N56ZFHpvCZ8
DENTON (UNT), Texas -- The title of the New Choreographers Concert says it all – “Unspoken Realities.”
“We have everything – suicide, addictions, fears – things that people have but don’t share with each other,” senior dance major Erin Norton said.
The concert will feature performances on tough topics from the Department of Dance and Theatre at the University of North Texas. The show runs 8 p.m. Dec. 1-2 (Friday-Saturday) and 2 p.m. Dec. 3 (Sunday) at the University Theater inside the Radio, Television, Film and Performing Arts Building.
Nine dance majors choreograph the pieces as part of their senior capstone course, with undergraduate students performing after 12 weeks of rehearsal.
For her own piece, called PSYCH 121.19, Norton tackles the subject of mental illness, specifically depression. The audience is taken on a journey through a person’s brain so it shows the neurons and pathways that occur inside the mind.
The performers dance to the music of Arvo Pärt’s classical number “Tabula Rasa.”
“It’s very chaotic,” said Norton, who would like to be a dance teacher and choreographer. “It has a lot of rise and fall that I feel matches what happens inside the mind.”
For senior dance major Amy Hoang, her dance Cemented will focus on being stuck. The dance is versatile in movement with a fusion of styles – mostly modern dance, but also a bit of breakdancing.
“Cemented perfectly describes my personality and style, which is a melting pot of techniques I’ve learned over the years,” she said. “The audience will notice a clear determination to find what the dancers are looking for as they attempt to escape this phase in their lives.”
Hoang has experienced this phase herself. But she felt her hard work was validated when the dance was chosen to be presented at the South Central American College Dance Association in March in Beaumont.
“The mind can be tricky and can make you feel as though you’re not going anywhere,” said Hoang, who would like to pursue a career as a professional dancer. “But in reality you are constantly growing and creating new things.”