Press Release
Winter Works 2023 Dance Concert
Purdue Contemporary Dance Company
Friday, December 8th - 7:30pm
Saturday, December 9th - 2:30pm & 7:30pm
$16.00 adults - $12.00 students – $8.00 Child 12 & under
Additional donations to PCDC are welcome! https://connect.purdue.edu/s/givenow
Purdue Campus Box Office – 765.494.3933 – hlmctix@purdue.edu
Please contact Sally Wallace at 765.494.5993 or rueffdance@groups.purdue.edu for more information
The Purdue Contemporary Dance Company (PCDC), housed in the Patti and Rusty Rueff School of Design, Art, and Performance in Yue-Kong Pao Hall, presents five new works by three dance faculty, two select student artists and a PCDC Alumni Artist. Faculty and students from the Division of Dance and the Theatre Department collaborate intensively to create original art on the stage, and to prepare students for careers in these performative disciplines. Original movement is created in the studio for each work over the course of the entire semester. All works are accompanied by original music/sound created specifically for these dances by students in the Theatre Department’s Sound Design program in collaboration with choreographers. Rueff School light-design students work with choreographers to design the unique lighting for each work on the Hansen Theatre stage. This semester the journey of the performance goes from risk taking to processing grief, from humans in relationships to their response to the dark of night, finishing with the interface of humans and technology. While there is no overarching theme to the concert, audience members might find their own thread through the works as they unfold.
Risk Ratio, choreographed by alumni guest artist Nina Deno, physically investigates the process of evaluating risk-benefit. The choreography explores risk identification, risk evaluation, and risk mitigation. Nina graduated from Purdue in 2017 with a PhD in Biochemistry.
email: ninaddeno@gmail.com phone: (218) 340-622 hometown- West Lafayette, IN, 47906
The Architecture of Loss delves into the delicate process of grief following fetal loss. The movement navigates the intricate journey through the stages of grief, ending with a space for healing. Choreographer Sophia Pachciarz is a senior majoring in Nursing with a minor in Dance. This is Sophia’s first main stage work for PCDC.
email: spachcia@purdue.edu phone (317) 900-6158 hometown- Carmel, IN, 46032
Kith and Kin, choreographed by dance faculty member Renee Murray with 15 dancers, explores the dynamics and evolving relationships of those close to us.
email: murra113@purdue.edu phone (773) 320-0571 hometown- Lafayette, IN 47905
The work against the dying of the light explores the variety of emotions and textures that arise at night. Kendalyn Fruehauf, a senior majoring in Data Science and Statistics, is choreographing on PCDC for the second time.
email: kfruehau@purdue.edu phone (269) 598-136 hometown- Kalamazoo, MI 49002
Faculty member Carol Cunningham-Sigman created Forgotten by Design, inspired by the delicate balance between machine-like precision and the boundless possibilities of human expression. The choreography depicts a community of cyborgs interacting in an industrial environment who strive to become more human-like and break free from the constraints that bind them.
email: carolec@purdue.edu phone (765) 532-526 hometown- West Lafayette, IN 47906