The first dance concert of the year at Slippery Rock
University may have a title fit for a carpenter’s tape
measure, but “60 x 60 x 60” has a little something for
everyone. The SRU Dance Department will present its 60
x 60 x 60 dance concert, 7:30 p.m., Sept. 23, at Swope
Music Hall, featuring 60 dance performances to 60 pieces
of music that are 60 seconds long. Kaylee Smith, a junior
dance major from Bridgeport, will be participating in the
performances.
“What makes this a good experience for the audience is
every piece is different and (it) won’t lose your attention
because it changes every minute,” said Halle Angelo, a
senior dual communication and dance major from Indiana,
who is performing and providing technical support for the
event. “One piece can have ambient sounds and be slow
moving and then the next one might be traffic noises and
be very technical.”
The annual 60 x 60 x 60 concert includes an
interdisciplinary element, and for this year’s event the
Dance Department invited art students to contribute
different paintings that will be projected onto the dancers
and the performance area.
“We are thrilled to have the Art Department collaborate
with us on yet another concert,” said Andy Hasenpflug,
SRU dance musician and director of the concert. “The
interdisciplinary nature of the 60 x 60 x 60 concert is a
wonderful way to showcase how departments in the arts
can work together to create an exciting event.”
The paintings for the concert were created by 30
students from a studio painting class taught last semester
by Heather Hertel, professor of art. The paintings range
from abstracts and landscapes to specific objects, such as
an eyeball or a cube.
The music and sounds can also be out of the ordinary,
such as one spoken-word soundtrack that Angelo found
amusing.
“There’s one with a guy repeating that he likes
doughnuts, so it’s very weird but fun,” Angelo said. “(As
performers and choreographers), we don’t get to pick the
music. Andy assigns the music to us in advance and we
have to create (a performance).”
Although there are 60 individual pieces, some are solo
and some are group performances and a few students are
participating in multiple dances. In all, there are more than
50 students who are performing and/or choreographing, in
addition to the contributions of 30 visual artists.
“I love the collaborative aspect,” Angelo said. “Having
other forms of art involved is challenging but it’s also
helpful because it sparks different interest. As
choreographers, sometimes we get stuck, so being able to
look at another form of art or music can inspire different
creative movement.”
