‘Reset: New Dances’ Explores Life by Pushing Boundaries of Movement
Performance Nov. 21-23 displays talent of nine student choreographers, with more than 50 dancers.By: Arden McHugh ’25 Friday, November 15, 2024 11:22 AM
Muhlenberg College’s Theatre & Dance Department will showcase the wide ranging stories and perspectives of student choreographers in its Reset: New Dances performance, Nov. 21-23.
Artistic Director Robyn Watson says she’s excited about the variety of work. Students are creating pieces about the stereotypes women face, the desire to escape, and personal stories from their families. There is no set theme for the concert, she says: “It’s various essays in anthology.”
“I think the importance of featuring student choreography is that it allows the Muhlenberg community to fully engage in what the students have been learning,” Watson says.
Reset: New Dances is an opportunity for the Advanced Dance Composition students to present their final work. “It allows a closer proximity for whoever is teaching this course to guide them along the production work,” says Watson, who teaches the course.
“Each of the choreographers bring something unique and wonderful to the table,” says Sophia Wentz ’27, Reset’s associate artistic director. “It’s so cool to see their knowledge and creativity shine in their pieces. Not to mention that the dancers are so dedicated and supportive in making the ideas and concepts for the pieces come to life.”
Choreographer Alyssa Kaplan is using vignettes to capture and share the memories she has of spending time with her family in museums. “I want to highlight the significance of the often disregarded people, places, and things that take place within larger stories and narratives,” she says. “I want to leave the audience questioning what happens when we choose to look at the moments in our lives with a wider lens.”
Kaplan says she sees the choreographic process as a kind of jigsaw puzzle. “It feels a lot like putting together puzzle pieces,” she says, “celebrating what fits and moving forward, and trying again for the edges that do not exactly match up.”
Choreographer Amélie Parczany ’25 is interested in exploring the ideas of “divine timing” and fate. During her time abroad at Accademia dell’Arte in Arezzo, Italy, Parczany created dance pieces about her parents’ first meeting.
“I had all these ideas for artistic projects and didn’t really have any thought of putting them together,” she says. “But when I started thinking about Reset I thought this would be the perfect time to explore my visions. I honestly didn’t even plan on having my parents’ story be a central part of my work, and now their story is the main focus and inspiration for the story I’m telling on stage.”
Parczany says the choreography process has been highly collaborative. “I’m a theatre-based choreographer and have never had the experience of choreographing on technical dancers or even developing work from the ground up fully on my own,” she says. “This piece is centered around my visions and ideas, but it would 100% not be the same piece with a different group of people.”
Reset: New Dances also features choreography by Ellie Dean ’26, Nicole Lamprinos ’25, Hannah Perfetti ’25, Zoe Pizzuto ’25, Hailey Smith ’26, Samantha Torrillo ’25, and Lexy Widi ’26. For the concert, Paul E. Thiesen Jr. is designing lighting, and Jasmine Canjura is designing costumes.
Reset: New Dances runs Nov. 21-23 in the Baker Theatre, Trexler Pavilion for Theatre & Dance, Muhlenberg College, 2400 Chew St., Allentown. Performances are Thursday, Nov. 21 at 8 p.m., Friday, Nov. 22 at 8 p.m. and Saturday, Nov. 23 at 2 and 8 p.m. Tickets are $15 for adults; $8 for patrons 17 and under; and $8 for students, faculty and staff of all LVAIC colleges.
Tickets and information are available at 484-664-3333 or muhlenberg.edu/seeashow.
About the Muhlenberg College Theatre & Dance Department
Muhlenberg offers Bachelor of Arts degrees in theatre and dance. The Princeton Review ranked Muhlenberg’s theatre program in the top twelve in the nation for eight years in a row, and Fiske Guide to Colleges lists both the theatre and dance programs among the top small college programs in the United States. Muhlenberg is one of only eight colleges to be listed in Fiske for both theatre and dance.
About Muhlenberg College
Founded in 1848, Muhlenberg is a highly selective, private liberal arts college offering baccalaureate and graduate programs. With an enrollment of nearly 2,000 students, Muhlenberg College is dedicated to shaping creative, compassionate, collaborative leaders through rigorous academic programs in the arts, humanities, natural sciences and social sciences; selected preprofessional programs, including accounting, business, education and public health; and progressive workforce-focused post-baccalaureate certificates and master’s degrees. Located in Allentown, Pennsylvania, approximately 90 miles west of New York City, Muhlenberg is a member of the Centennial Conference, competing in 23 varsity sports. Muhlenberg is affiliated with the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America.
