Posted by Jayme Blaschke
University News Service
October 2, 2007

Admission is $10 for the general public and $5 for students (cash only). Parking will be available at the Pleasant Street Parking Garage.

Sponsored by the Department of Theatre and Dance, the Alumni Gala features choreography and performances by Texas State University alumnae such as Joan Hays, LeAnne Smith Stedman, Michelle Nance, Kaysie Seitz Brown, Shay Ishii, Robin Phares, Catherine Werner, Megan Aldana, Randi Miles and Annie Hudson.

Ishii will be presenting Upon Awakening, which features six dancers and four vocalists.

“As a dancer, I wanted to be inside of the vibration and energy of the sound.  The vocalists would likewise be enveloped by the energy of our movement,” Ishii said. “The audience would then receive both of these energies as a combined, cohesive, powerful force.  Usually the movement and the sound reach the audience as two separate forces.”

Her desire with this piece was to have the vocalists on stage with the dancers creating a landscape of bodies and sounds to dance within and around.

Brown will present subSISTENCE, featuring an original score by Grace Kang written specifically for this piece. subSISTENCE was originally choreographed and performed in New York in 2005.

“It's basically a piece inspired by the urban landscapes created by New York City commuters in the subway stations,” Brown said. “I think it's a little risky bringing it to Texas since we really don't have a subway system here, but I think that people can find their own way to relate to the piece.”