“Muscle Memory” Features New Choreography by Emory Dance Faculty

ATLANTA, GA (November 9, 2009) - Centered on the theme of memory and performed by students of the Emory Dance Company, “Muscle Memory,” the Emory Dance Company Fall Concert, showcases the collaborative efforts of Emory dance faculty members Gregory Catellier, Anna Leo, Sally Radell, George Staib and Lori Teague. The concert runs Nov. 19-21, 2009 at 8 p.m. with an additional 2 p.m. matinee on Nov. 21 in Emory’s Schwartz Center for Performing Arts, Dance Studio, 1700 N. Decatur Road. Tickets ($12 general public; $10 discount groups; $5 students) are available at www.arts.emory.edu or 404-727-5050. Proceeds from the Nov. 21, 8 p.m. concert followed by a reception will benefit the Emory Friends of Dance Scholarship Fund. 

Gregory Catellier’s “Rapid Fire Slide” is set to a score by Steve Martland and performed by eight dancers. The piece focuses on the ideas of memory acquisition and loss, and how they are manifested both physically and spatially.

“Trigger,” by Lori Teague, was inspired by personal photographs and memories. Using movement material created by the dancers, the piece examines how different objects trigger one’s memories. 

Sally Radell’s “Lost & Found” reflects upon our memories of significant things we lose in our lives and how we find or replace them. Radell shaped this dance into an impressionistic journey through loss, growth and discovery based on movements and stories generated from the dancers. 

George Staib has created a quintet that reflects on a variety of emotions. It addresses the struggle to retain large events and pieces of information in our minds and the resultant feelings of nostalgia and frustration that occur in this process.

Anna Leo has choreographed a series of smaller dances based on different aspects of memory: the memory intact, the memory fading, the memory as a clear space and recollecting memory.