Concerts by University Dancers (UD)

The annual UD concert includes choreography by nationally established and emerging artists, and UMass and Five College faculty members. Large works by two famous choreographers- Mark Morris and Chuck Davis--are featured on the UD 2009 concerts on December 4, 5 & 6 in Bowker Auditorium. In Morris's Gloria, set to Vivaldi's piece of the same name, students perform to live music provided by the University Orchestra and Chamber Choir. The piece will also be performed at Smith College and the Academy of Music in Northampton.

African Dance Master Chuck Davis' work, BlueGrass/BrownEarth, is an energetic blend of African dance, traditional banjo, American banjo and bluegrass music. The concert also includes a new ballet by Professor Tom Vacanti, set to a Schubert quintet and played by a graduate student ensemble, as well as a lively jazz piece by guest artist Carol Ceniti.

In 2008, UD presented Movin' On by Broadway Choreographer George Faison which was performed by our students with the Alvin Ailey II company at the University's Fine Arts Center stage-- an extremely exciting experience! The UD concert also included: Doris Humphrey's Day on Earth reconstructed by Paul Dennis, Doug Elkins's Narcoleptic Lovers (a Five-College Project), Billbob Brown's Freudian Slip with live music by the Paul Arslanian trio; Adrienne Hawkins's Ta-Ka-Ta Da and Hazel Sabas-Gower's refreshing contemporary pointe ballet, Deconstructing Gershwin, also performed for the UMass Pops Concert, and at the American College Dance Festival.

Doug Varone, Randy James, Terry Creach, Kathryn Posin, George Balanchine, and many other choreographers have been featured on recent UD concerts.

Outreach by University Dancers

University Dancers is the only college touring company in New England that offers audiences a full range of dance repertory, including modern dance, ballet and jazz dance. The company is composed mainly of Dance majors who audition in the fall, to be part of the January performing/touring/teaching company. The touring experience and the interactions at elementary, junior and senior high schools; other colleges; and community and retirement centers have often been life changing for students who discover unforeseen passions or hidden skills. During the tour, students learn the life of a roadie, setting up and taking down a full stage of equipment daily. Skills they gain are far-reaching, often leading to professional work.

The tours enable our dancers to make a significant impact on younger students. For example, UD worked at the Kensington Elementary School, an inner-city school in Springfield, MA, where many families are at the poverty level.  Through UD's workshops, activities and performances, the children showed a remarkable brightening of spirit and their standardized test scores rose.

University Dancers has a strong commitment to connecting dance with arts across the UMass campus and with communities unfamiliar with dance. Past collaborations include Pleiades, with the Astronomy and Digital Arts Departments, the Electronic Music and Percussion Programs; e=FAC2, with the History and Math Departments; and Transformations, with the Computer Sciences, Psychology and Music Departments. There also have been collaborations with Lively Arts, drawing and voice classes, as well as numerous collaborations with full music ensembles, including Jazz Ensemble I and Percussion Ensemble. University Dancers is now a regular part of the spring UMass Amherst Pops Gala concert, in which UD performs more popular dances to live orchestra or jazz ensemble.