The 2005 Sweet Briar College Spring Dance Concert promises a plethora of varied and dynamic performances from some of the school's most accomplished and promising artists. The concert will be presented on Friday and Saturday, April 22 and 23 at 8 p.m. in Babcock Fine Arts Center's Murchison Lane Auditorium. It is free and open to the public.

Aside from a couple of pieces with a "little bit of political thought behind them," dance program director Mark Magruder said the concert serves more to showcase the finer performances from the school year than to present a single overriding theme or tone. "Like all of our shows, this is an exciting and unique collection of pieces," the SBC professor of theatre and dance said. "But there is a tremendous amount of energy in this year's concert."

In addition to Sweet Briar dance students, the show will feature contributions from guest artist Jarvis McKinley, a student from the Virginia School for the Arts; Joshua Fried, a New York composer and Virginia Center for the Creative Arts fellow; children from area primary and secondary schools; along with Magruder and his wife, Ella, SBC professor of theater and dance.

Mark Magruder is particularly pleased with the wide age range represented in this year's lineup. He calls "To the Winds," choreographed by Ella Magruder, a "multi-generational dance."We will have three or four different generations on stage at once," he said. "From age seven to high school and college to adult. It portrays a beautiful relationship between the different generations and how each is giving something to each other - a really nice piece."

The participation of VSA senior McKinley, in a duet choreographed by Casey Poore '05 and Caryn "Charli" Brissey '07, marks the first time a student from the Lynchburg school has performed in a Sweet Briar production. "It's a really incredible duet that everybody has to see," Magruder said.

Brissey also lends her choreography skills to a piece Magruder calls one of the Spring Concert's most exciting. "Emergency Code Red" features 10 dancers, the largest piece of this year's show, and touches on environmental problems. "It's very exuberant, a remarkable piece for a sophomore."

"The Image of One," choreographed by Jan Jennings '05, utilizes a large piece of fabric being manipulated by two other "invisible" students and features a script Jennings reads as her score. She has received a scholarship from Mills College in California, where she will begin a master of fine arts program in dance this fall.

Samantha Angus of Amherst is another SBC senior headed to graduate school. She will perform the solo piece "Leaving," which Mark Magruder choreographed to Nina Simone's song, "Don't Smoke in Bed."

"Samantha is so emotive in this piece," Magruder said. "As a performer, she's really hitting her stride."

Magruder himself is performing "WMD's," a politically oriented piece he choreographed with music composed by Joshua Fried, a fellow at the VCCA adjacent to the Sweet Briar campus. "It's a very high-energy, athletic piece," Magruder said. "It's questioning, 'Are we human beings the real Weapons of Mass Destruction'?"

For more information on the SBC Spring Dance Concert, please contact Mark Magruder, SBC professor of dance, at (434) 381-6150 or magruder@sbc.edu.

Spring Dance Concert 2005 - Individual Pieces

To The Winds
Choreography: Ella Magruder
Music By: 13th century poem text
Dancers: Samantha Angus, Jan Jennings, Ella Magruder, Mia Magruder, Bryce Patton, Margot Pleasants, Casey Poore

WMD's
Choreographer: Mark Magruder
Music: Joshua Fried (VCCA Fellow)
Dancers: Charli Brissey, Mark Franklin, Mark Magruder, Casey Poore, Betty Skeen

Leaving
Choreographer: Mark Magruder
Music: Wilsson
Dancer: Samantha Angus

Passionate Marvel
Choreographer: Casey Poore
Dancers: Charli Brissey, Jarvis Mckinley (VSA student)

Rapt
Choreographer: Casey Poore
Dancers: Charli Brissey, Heather Coley, Betty Skeen

The Image of One
Choreographer: Jan Jennings
Text: Jan Jennings
Dancer: Jan Jennings
Assistance: Tacy Bolton, Heather Coley

Conflict
Choreographer: Samantha Angus
Dancers: Samantha Angus, Charli Brissey, Jan Jennings, Casey Poore, Betty Skeen
Music: Rose

Meeting That Moment
Choreographer: Amanda Evans
Text: Octario Paz
Text Translation: Amanda Evans

Code Red
Choreographer: Charli Brissey
Dancers: Samantha Angus, Tacy Bolton, Charli Brissey, Heather Coley, Mark Franklin, Brooke Helburn, Jan Jennings, Casey Poore, Betty Skeen, Celeste Wackenhut

Disassembling Self
Choreographer: Betty Skeen
Music: Veach
Text: Betty Skeen
Dancers: Samantha Angus, Tacy Bolton, Charli Brissey, Heather Coley, Amanda Evans, Casey Poore

Living in Pink
Choreographer: Tacy Bolton
Dancers: Samantha Angus, Tacy Bolton, Charli Brissey, Heather Coley, Mary Dance, Amanda Evans, Mark Franklin, Casey Poore, Betty Skeen