Kathleen McCowan was a Dancer in Muhlenberg’s Innovative “Dance Emerge”

photo: muhlenberg.edu

The talent of seven young choreographers and more than 50 dancers was on display as the Muhlenberg College Theatre & Dance Department presented Dance Emerge, in Allentown, Pennsylvania. Kathleen Mc­Cowan, of Winslow, was one of the featured dancers.

Dance Emerge showcases the ideas and talents of Muhlenberg’s student choreographers and dancers, presenting highly innovative, imaginative and explorative dance. This concert provides students the opportunity to demonstrate their mastery of dance composition, as well as exploring themes of culture, society, and life through the medium of dance.

The choreographers whose works are chosen for “Dance Emerge” spend a semester devoted to finding, developing, and polishing the essence of the pieces they will present. The work that arrives on the stage is thought-provoking, insightful, and vibrantly performed.

“This year’s program highlights the creative processes of student choreographers as they artfully transform seeds of inspiration into original dance works,” says Marcie Mamura, the concert’s artistic director and a member of the dance program faculty.

The seven original dances feature styles inspired by jazz, modern, and Gaga, an Israeli dance form. The choreographers draw inspiration from such sources as the practice of people-watching, the stages of a relationship, and “mental hesitation,” among others.