The James Sewell Ballet from Minneapolis, Minnesota, will treat students to a fun, diverse show at 8 p.m. tomorrow in Markel Auditorium as part of the college’s Professional Artist Series.
Director of Dance Holly Hobbs, who chose and booked the company, described the James Sewell Ballet as having “a contemporary edge” to its work.
“We haven’t had a dance company come in a long time, so we’re excited about that,” Hobbs said.
The nine-dancer company was formed in New York by James Sewell and has been based in Minneapolis, Sewell’s hometown, since 1993. It tours internationally, displaying ballet-based choreography with diverse contemporary influences.
Sewell promises a wide range of dance styles, beginning with the first piece on Friday’s program, a popular selection from “Le Corsaire,” a classical ballet from the 19th century which will showcase the company’s traditional skills.
The next piece presented will be “New Moves,” featuring seven different sections based on movements taken from everyday life rather than ballet class — sections devoted to action movie fight scenes, dancers in crowded nightclubs, and skiing.
“Snowboard, horseback ride, and fish, we find ways to be inspired by those movements, work them into the piece, and reflect them in dance,” Sewell said.
The final section is titled “Kid Moves,” and is choreographed with movements copied from small children dancing.
“We learned all the movements of the kids’ moves,” Sewell said. “The actual movements had come right out of the bodies of 3- to 5-year-olds. There’s a fair amount of funny things that can occur within there.”
Two duets will follow “New Moves,” one based on the song “Crazy” by Patsy Cline, and another called “Tryst.”
“It’s a separate part of a larger ballet set to Bach music,” Sewell said. “Just people finding each other in the woods — in my mind, fairly abstract.”
The program will end with a special Halloween feature called “Grave Matters,” featuring zombies.
“One girl wanders in and starts interacting, having an adventure of sorts with the zombies,” Sewell said. “So you can get your Halloween fix here, it’s a lot of fun.”
While on campus, the company will also lead a special master class for dance students on Thursday afternoon.
Admission to the show in Markel is free, but tickets must be reserved with the Sage Box Office before the show.
The Professional Artist Series brings regular music, theater, and dance performances to the Markel stage. The next professional artist scheduled to visit campus is the Lark Quartet on Jan. 23.
