Oct. 12, 2012. Appalachian State University’s Department of Theatre and Dance welcomes the return of the North Carolina Dance Festival (NCDF) for its 2012 tour. Performances are Oct. 25 – 27 at 7:30 p.m. in the state-of-the-art Valborg Theatre. The event will showcase eight professional dance companies, along with two student choreographed pieces and one faculty work.
Ticket prices start at just $8 and are available in person at the Valborg Theatre box office Monday through Friday from 9 a.m. until 5 p.m., by phone at 828-262-3063, toll-free at 800-841-ARTS (2787) and online at www.theatre.appstate.edu. Prices are $8 for students and youth (ages 6-18), $13 for faculty/staff and seniors, and $15 for adults.
Appalachian is NCDF’s second stop on its five-city 2012 tour. Performances feature festival founder Jan Van Dyke along with other nationally acclaimed dance artists for a three-night celebration of statewide talent. Originating at UNC-Greensboro in 1991 as a part of the North Carolina Dance Project, the NCDF strives to expose different parts of the state to dance performances and creates a vibrant community of dancers and choreographers.
Unique to the Valborg venue, NCDF will also feature dance pieces performed and choreographed by Appalachian students Hadiya Wharton and Bethany Berryessa along with faculty member Susan Lutz. An associate professor of dance studies, Lutz said she is delighted to have NCDF on the Valborg stage for a 17th consecutive year. “It’s really a great opportunity for our students to network with professional dancers from North Carolina,” said Lutz. “Very often our graduates end up coming back with professional companies to perform at their alma mater.”
The work of professional photographer Steve Clarke, who is known for his ability to capture the beauty of dance movement, will be featured in a lobby exhibition in the Valborg Theatre the entire week of the dance festival.
The Valborg Theatre is located on the north side of Chapell Wilson Hall on Howard Street. The door faces the back of the Turchin Center for the Visual Arts on King Street. Parking is available after 5 p.m. on campus in faculty lots and in the College Street parking deck near Belk Library and Information Commons.
The Department of Theatre and Dance is housed in the College of Fine and Applied Arts. Its mission is to provide liberal arts educations for the B.S. degree in teaching theatre arts and the B.A. degrees in dance studies or theatre arts. The department also offers coursework for integrated learning through the arts to the general university student population. Vital to the support of this mission is a dynamic co-curricular production program that provides exemplary theatre and dance experiences to departmental students, the university community and the region. The departmental philosophy is to support the university’s liberal arts environment through a balanced and integrated emphasis on teaching, creative activity, scholarship and service.
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