Dance to Present ‘Metamorphose: Dance Inspired by the Artwork of Leonardo Drew’

From Thursday, Nov. 7 through Saturday, Nov. 9, the department of music and dance will present a dance performance titled “Metamorphose: Dance Inspired by the Artwork of Leonardo Drew.” Performances will take place all three evenings at 7:30 p.m. in Totman Performance Lab. For their main performance of the 2019-20 school year, UMass dance will present original works choreographed by faculty members Bronwen MacArthur, Aston K. McCullough and Tom Vacanti, all inspired by the artwork of Leonardo Drew, whose exhibit “Cycles” is currently on view at the Fine Art Center’s University Museum of Contemporary Art.

Drew is a New York-based artist known for his unique manipulation of natural materials and his creation of additive sculptures and installations. The UMass dance faculty chose to interpret Drew's work due to the large scale and tactile nature of his installations, which often utilize found objects that are in the process of disintegration. For example, dance program director Tom Vacanti created "Diminishing Perspective" based on Drew's artistic approaches, and transposed these techniques to his choreographic and design process by creating a work that deconstructs, decays and transforms dance vocabularies. Fascinated by the idea of place and how dancers inhabit a very specific world during performance, Tom also drew inspiration from the arid and desolate western landscapes of John Ford films.

Besides the new works by faculty, the November performances will also feature Doug Varone’s “Boats Leaving,” which won the 2007 “Bessie” for Outstanding Choreography from the New York Dance and Performance Awards.

Ticket prices are $15 for the general public, $5 for students, seniors and UMass Amherst employees, and free for UMass students. Tickets may be purchased at the Fine Arts Center Box Office, by phone at 413-545-2511 or online. The Totman Performance Lab is located on Eastman Lane on the north side of the campus.