Published: April 14, 2009 01:14 pm      

NCTC dance department to unveil 'Revolution'

“Revolution—a dynamic mix of sound and movement” is how the Department of Dance at North Central Texas College is billing its upcoming spring concert on April 27.

The event, open at no charge to the general public, will begin at 7:30 p.m. on the main stage of the First State Bank Center for the Performing Arts (FSB Center) on the Gainesville Campus.

The concert program will feature members of the performance dance classes at NCTC from both the Gainesville and Corinth campuses and will center around dance presentations they have been working on during the semester under the direction of instructors Meghan Cardwell-Wilson and Karen MacIntyre.

Also slated to appear are several guest performers including the Electric Red Dancers from Gainesville High School under the direction of Shawna Beall..

“In many cases, our NCTC student dancers will be performing numbers for which they chose their music and did much of their own choreography,” said Gabrielle Fletcher, chair of the Department of Drama and Dance.

Fletcher said she’s very pleased about the growth of the college dance program over the past two years.

“Student interest has increased threefold,” she said, “and with the addition of dance performance classes being offered in Corinth and the strong, professional relationship we’ve established with Texas Woman’s University, the future of dance at NCTC is very exciting.”

Instructor MacIntyre is owner and director of Green Space Arts Collective and also directs New York-based Triad Dance Ensemble, which has received funding through the New York State Council on the Arts since 1991. She holds BFA in Dance from the University of Texas at Austin and is a certified Montessori educator.

MacIntyre’s work as a dancer and choreographer has been produced at Yale University, Hofstra University, the Kennedy Center in Washington, DC, and the Cunningham Studio and Nat Horne Theater in New York City. She recently completed her MFA in dance at TWU and teaches dance courses at the NCTC Corinth Campus.

The Gainesville dance performance class, taught by Meghan Cardwell-Wilson, will feature several pieces choreographed by Cardwell-Wilson, as well as a vignette of pieces choreographed by the students.

Cardwell-Wilson also teaches dance at TWU and has choreographed and performed at various venues including Dallas Dance for the Planet, TWU Dance Makers Concert Series, Ghost Town Arts Gallery and SHIFT in Washington, D.C. She is active in the community, working with young children and serving on the board of directors for Ghost Town Arts Collective.

“Our student dancers will also perform some of their pieces earlier in the month at Art Attack,” Fletcher said. “This festival at Lavender Ridge Farms here in Cooke County is an annual event that allows students to present their work in wonderfully informal, outdoor setting.”

The festival will be held on April 18, and the dancers will be performing at noon that day. More information about Art Attack can be found online at www.nctc.edu/ArtAttack/index.htm.

Persons seeking more information about the concert or about dance classes or other performing arts programs at NCTC may contact the Drama and Dance Department at 668-3318.