Theater, Dance, and Performance Studies

Program Overview:

• Ɔbra by Philip Agyapong (faculty) reflects the very rhythm of existence; birth, puberty, marriage, coronation, and death — each a vital moment in the human journey. Rooted in the cultural worldview of the Akan, this dance embodies the interconnectedness of community life and honors the intrinsic value of each individual.
• Happy Days (Finale) by Leyya Mona Tawil (guest artist) is a choice-based choreography, conceived as the final section of a fictional dance that began earlier today.
• Libations by SAMMAY Peñaflor Dizon (guest artist and alum) asks how we can summon the courage for these unfathomable times and what offerings we can make to assist the earth in her/their healing. The work explores lineage, ritual, and radical care, while honoring personal narratives and ancestral practices rooted in earth-based traditions.
• Salsa Caliente by Kyungmi ‘Lucy’ Yoo (PE faculty) is a performance from an advanced Salsa class in the Physical Education Program.
• Fusion Hallyangmu by Kyungmi ‘Lucy’ Yoo (PE faculty) is a modern interpretation of ‘Hallyangmu,” a traditional Korean Male Fan Dance, using current K-pop music.
• K-pop Medley by Kyungmi ‘Lucy’ Yoo (PE faculty)showcases K-pop dance, a popular dance form worldwide.
• Syntax by Thea van Warmerdam Patterson (PE faculty) was originally a quintet from a ballet entitled “Anatomy of a Sad-Girl Poem,” that has been excerpted and reimagined as a stand-alone duet. Like a messy scrawl of text across a page, these dancers enact a playful war between words and the arbitrary syntactical rules of writing in the pursuit of poetic license.
• Timeless Heat by Kendra Barnes (PE faculty) is a fun and energetic Hip Hop Medley that weaves together the vibes and flows of old school to current day music & moves. Dancers journey through different eras and energies of hip hop, paying homage to the culture while letting personality shine.
• Sonnet 73 <四季生时> by Cheryl Yang (TDPS Student) is a reimagining of Shakespeare’s sonnet “That time of year thou mayst in me behold / When yellow leaves, or none, or few, do hang...”
• Watched Women Watching Women by Ellis Emerson (TDPS student)
• Jeep Jockey Jump by Jen Tachibana (TDPS student) embodies the pure joy in motion that is Lindy Hop, born in Harlem’s Black communities in the 1920s This piece celebrates the vitality and freedom that Lindy Hop continues to inspire—the courage to move boldly, embrace joy, and find community through dance.