The Department of Dance is presenting its annual Fall Dance Concert December 7-10, 2011, featuring the work of legendary choreographer Merce Cunningham. The department is privileged to be a part of an exclusive list of schools performing his work as part of the Cunningham Legacy Tour in the wake of his passing in 2009, including The Juilliard School, Cornish, North Carolina School of the Arts, The Mason Gross School of the Arts at Rutgers, University of Michigan, Trinity Laban Conservatoire of Music and Dance, London Contemporary Dance School, Brown University and the American Dance Festival.

A MinEvent is an uninterrupted sequence of solos, duets, trios and larger group sections of over six works from the Cunningham repertory.  Cunningham had a longstanding collaboration with composer John Cage, and in the spirit of the Cunningham/Cage relationship, we are excited to partner with the Conservatory of Music to create the sound score for this unique event.

The program will be directed by faculty member Jennifer Backhaus, founder of Orange County’s critically-acclaimed Backhausdance.  The program will also feature original pieces by faculty members Dale A. Merrill, Nancy Dickson-Lewis, Alicia Okouchi-Guy, Sean Greene and Leann Alduenda, showcasing the Chapman dancers’ strong technique with well-crafted, exciting choreography.

The concert will take place in the Waltmar Theatre at 7:30pm nightly, with an additional performance at 2pm on December 10.  For tickets, call 714-997-6812 or visit www.chapman.edu/copa.