By David West
NSU senior dance students, front from left, Kathleen Kerner of Covington, LG Williams II of New Orleans, Joshua DeAlba of Orlando, Florida, back from left, Ebony Johnson of New Orleans and Taylor Walker of Shreveport.
Northwestern Theatre and Dance will present its annual Senior Dance concert Saturday, April 30 at 7 p.m. in the A.A. Fredericks Auditorium. Admission is free and open to the public.
The concert, “Shift” features choreography by graduating senior dance students Joshua DeAlba of Orlando, Florida, Kathleen Kerner of Covington, Ebony Johnson and LG Williams II of New Orleans and Taylor Walker of Shreveport.
The works by Johnson are “Bella Noche” and “Bastet.”
“Bella Noche” is a work loosely based on a viral news interview about a popular Baton Rouge nightclub. In this piece, Hazel London and her friend Jerhonda Henderson run head first into a wild and crazy night at their favorite weekend night spot.
Bastet, the Egyptian goddess of cats, is featured in stories, myths and legends in Egyptian mythology. She was revered as the kindly goddess of pets and household cats and also as the warlike lion-headed goddess. Bastet (also known as Bast) replaced the ancient cult of Mafdet, the earliest cat goddess of ancient Egypt. In her benign aspect, Bastet was worshipped as the life giving god of fire, cats, of the home and pregnant women. In her malignant aspect, Bastet was worshipped as the hostile war goddess and protector of Egypt. She was therefore known as the giver of blessings to the good and a deliverer of wrath to the evil and could be depicted as cat, lion, lynx or cheetah. In this piece, we will experience her two most distinguished archetypes, the warrior and the lover and the malignant aspects of both.
Walker’s two pieces are “Stained Leaves,” which was inspired by the civil rights movement of the 1950s and 60s focusing on lynchings that happened during the era and “Stay,” a playful, light-hearted duet about two young people falling in love.
Williams’ works are “Trap’t” and “I Don’t Know if I can Make it….”
“Trap’t” is a hip hop piece that’s purely an entertainment piece that has three couples that each belong to a very different social status. This piece shows that no matter who we are or where we come from, we can all come together through expressing ourselves in the arts.
“I Don’t Know if I can Make It….” is a duet that portrays one’s struggle with depression and anxiety which leads to suicide. This piece goes through some of the textbook stages that people go through when experiencing depression before it leads to a suicidal state and this will hopefully raise an awareness so that people may be able to more easily pick up on these signs be able to help.
DeAlba’s works are “Homo Evolutis” and “On the rocks.” Kerner’s works are “Time Lapse” and “Scarlett Nile.
