The School of Music, Theater, and Dance presents ‘Within Perception’ featuring original works by senior dance majors Claire Crause, Chloe Gonzales, Paula Modafferi, Kasia Reilly, and Soultana Schiavi.

Claire Crause’s Inside the Edge is a dynamic work on the ledge of a tipping point. Inspired by Plato’s “Allegory of the Cave,” this piece for six dancers features new music by composer Gabriel Novak. Crause’s solo, The Cave, explores human connection once materialism has been stripped away. The work features an original score by composer Barry Riggins.

Loosely inspired by the ballet Giselle, Chloe Gonzales’ Cult explores the stripping of one’s individuality. Through a modernization and reinvention of the classic, this piece questions our own ability to stay original in our society. Gonzales’ solo work, Grief in Real Time, is a collaboration with saxophone performance major Matt Rader to the piece “Mai”, by Ryo Noda. The dance is a performance improvisation where the dancer and musician relate to each other in the moment of grief.

Grynn, choreographed by Paula Modafferi, utilizes exaggeration and minimalism to create a bizarre dance that celebrates comedy, tragedy, and nonsensical debauchery. Influences for Modafferi’s choreography are derived from clown, mime, and absurdist philosophies.

Kasia Reilly presents her ensemble choreography Delicatessen Caresses Department, a study in Eastern European avant-garde aesthetics where nervousness and elegance collide. In her solo work I got nothing but blood Reilly dances a meditation on her own self-conception while incorporating imagery related to the ideas from Delicatessen Caresses Department.

Soultana Schiavi’s inspiration stems from the narrative Outliers by Malcolm Gladwell. The piece explores the path to self-defined success and its reliance on outside, uncontrollable factors to achieve an ultimate goal. Schiavi’s choreography requires the dancers to rely on their own personal experiences . Her solo work is performed to the powerful sounds of Max Richter and focuses closely on the emotional side of being on the brink of great change.

The concert will take place at the Betty Pease Studio Theater, 1310 N University Ct, Ann Arbor, Michigan, Thursday, December 8 – Saturday, December 10, 2016. All shows begin at 8:00pm with tickets going on sale at the door for $7, beginning at 7:00pm each night.  For more information, please visit dance.umich.edu/dance-productions. This event is supported in part through the School of Music, Theatre & Dance EXCEL Enterprise Fund.