ANNUAL FESTIVAL FEATURES A DIVERSE PROGRAM OF NEW WORKS: Two Princeton students are rehearsing for a new work by choreographer Olivier Tarpaga that will be performed at the Princeton Dance Festival at McCarter Theatre Center. Festival performances are scheduled for December 2 at 8 p.m., December 3 at 2 p.m. and 8 p.m., and December 4 at 1 p.m. (Photo Credit: Elena Anamos)

The Lewis Center for the Arts’ Program in Dance at Princeton University presents the annual Princeton Dance Festival, in which 40 Princeton dance students will perform repertory works by Zvi Gotheiner, John Jasperse, and Mark Morris, along with new works by Kimberly Bartosik, Francesca Harper, and Olivier Tarpaga. Four performances will take place December 2 at 8 p.m., December 3 at 2 p.m. and 8 p.m., and December 4 at 1 p.m. at the Berlind Theatre at McCarter Theatre Center.

Zvi Gotheiner, assisted by Chelsea Ainsworth, has staged “Rothko”. This excerpt, from his evening-length work titled Escher/Bacon/Rothko, was premiered by ZviDance at New York Live Arts in 2015. The work is inspired by the American painter, Mark Rothko’s (1903 -1970) work, which is characterized by his use of symmetrical rectangular blocks of two to three opposing or contrasting, yet complementary colors. These colors appear to vibrate when these fields collide/merge, creating an optical flicker at their point of intersection.

Stuart Singer has re-staged excerpts of John Jasperse’s Within between, a playful and complex dance exploring emptiness and in-between places. With an original score by Jonathan Bepler, Within between earned two New York Dance and Performance “Bessie” Awards after its 2014 premiere. Within between is the 16th evening-length work that Jasperse, a 2014 Doris Duke Award Recipient and newly appointed Director of the Dance Program at Sarah Lawrence College, has created for his company, John Jasperse Projects. The Princeton Dance Festival marks the first time that the work will be re-staged with students.

Dance faculty member Tina Fehlandt has staged Mark Morris’ “Polka,” an audience favorite at
Princeton’s 2010 Dance Festival. “Polka” premiered in 1992 and was later incorporated into Morris’ major work, Grand Duo, of which the Times of London wrote, “A fierce energy eats up space in a frenzied momentum which culminates in a transcendent moment of power. Astonishing stuff.” Fehlandt, a full-time Lecturer in Dance at Princeton University, was an integral part of the Mark Morris Dance Group for 20 years, from its inception in 1980 to January 2000, appearing in over 50 works choreographed by Morris.

The Festival will also premiere three new works by choreographers who are serving as guest faculty or guest choreographers during the fall semester.

In her new work with the working title like a deep wave, guest choreographer Kimberly Bartosik uses a choreographic mix of extreme movement virtuosity, and stripped down, highly charged stillness both to define the performers’ interactions and to unbalance and destabilize the expectations of the audience. Her work, which is deeply informed by literature and cinema, involves complex plays on space, time, and audience perspective, dramatically illuminating the ephemeral nature of performance.

Skin Code, features Princeton students in an original work with choreography by Francesca Harper assisted by Terrence Diable. A movement inspired by inclusivity, Skin Code examines the current state of labeling in the 21st century, asking: How does the human body respond to judgment? How do we empathize? Harper is an internationally acclaimed artist. After being named Presidential Scholar in the Arts and performing at the White House, Harper performed soloist roles with the Dance Theater of Harlem and spent several years as a principal in William Forsythe’s Ballet Frankfurt.

Olivier Tarpaga has created a new work for and with his students, Fly like a butterfly, Sting like a bee, based on a previously created solo piece. Tarpaga is a Lester Horton Award-winning choreographer and is the co-artistic director of transnational contemporary dance theatre company Baker & Tarpaga Dance Project.

“This year’s program offers an exceptionally diverse program of dance, ranging from the cool, elegant contemporary work of John Jasperse, to the rowdy West African contemporary dance of Olivier Tarpaga and everything in between,” notes Susan Marshall, Director of the Program in Dance. “Our opening the first week of December unveils these dances at the peak of the fall semester crescendo — our students will be hurtling onto the stage having newly mastered and polished the demands of this challenging work. It will be an exciting evening.”

Reserved seating tickets for the Princeton Dance Festival are $12 ($11 for students and seniors) when purchased in advance, or $17 ($15 for students and seniors) on the day of performances. Tickets are available online at arts.princeton.edu/dancefestival, by calling the McCarter box office at (609) 258-2787, at the Frist Campus Center Ticket Office, and at the door on the nights of performances.

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