(BRANCHBURG, NJ) -- Raritan Valley Community College’s (RVCC) Visual and Performing Arts Department will present DanceWorks, an evening of student and faculty dance performances, Tuesday and Wednesday, December 1 and 2, at 8 p.m. The event will be held in the Edward Nash Theatre at the College’s Branchburg Campus. The concert is being produced by Loretta Fois, Director of RVCC’s dance program.
The evening will feature the world premiere of Icarus Rising, a dance-opera by Verlezza Dance, a modern dance company based in NY/NJ. Set during Fascist Italy, the new work is a theatrical realization of an individual’s attempt to enlighten people about the beauty of freedom. The opera is truly a community collaboration and involves professional dancers and singers from New Jersey/New York, local college students, and vocalists from Caritas Chamber Chorale, located in Far Hills. Choreography and direction is by RVCC dance professors Sabatino Verlezza and Loretta Fois, music composition by Elliot Sokolov, and libretto by Isidore Elias.
Six student pieces were chosen for the concert. The student choreography is the culmination of a semester of classwork as the students created and rehearsed the new works to be performed. Choreographers include Cori Barnes, Shamiya Baldwin, Jennifer Wrede, Kaitlin Geoghegan, Christina Constantino and members of the RVCC Dance Club.
General admission tickets cost $12 each, $8 for students and seniors. For tickets, call 908-725-3420.
Raritan Valley Community College’s main campus is located at 118 Lamington Road in Branchburg, NJ. Serving Somerset and Hunterdon County residents for close to 50 years, RVCC is an educational and cultural center that is nationally recognized for its innovative programming, service to the community and environmental leadership. The College offers more than 90 associate degrees and certificates, as well as career training, professional development and personal enrichment courses. The College also has a performing arts center and planetarium. RVCC is committed to offering a quality and affordable education through effective teaching, liaisons with the community’s businesses and state-of-the-art technology. For further information, visit www.raritanval.edu.