(BRANCHBURG, NJ) -- Raritan Valley Community College’s (RVCC) Arts & Design department will present DanceWorks, an outdoor event of student and faculty dances, Friday, April 30 at 6:00pm, and Saturday, May 1 at 3:00pm. A rain date has been scheduled for Sunday, May 2 at 3:00pm.  Produced by Loretta Fois, Director of RVCC’s dance program, the event will be held on the Basketball courts at the College’s Branchburg campus. 

The student choreography includes dances by Mikayla Ahart (Hillsborough), Mallory Banks (Fanwood), Dree Dray (South Plainfield), Evangelina Sandoval (Bayonne), Emily Stecher (Berkeley Heights), Alison Stone (Bound Brook), and Cedric Thomas (North Plainfield). The student choreography is the culmination of a semester of classwork as the students created and rehearsed the new works to be performed. Faculty choreography includes the premiere of two new pieces made specifically for the outdoor environment, created by Adjunct Professors Marissa Aucoin and Lauren Beirne. 

The Raritan Valley Dance Ensemble (RVDE), under the direction of Loretta Fois, will perform Anne Teresa De Keersmaeker’s, Rosas danst Rosas. This piece, created in 1983, has become a benchmark in the history of postmodern dance. In a 2011 review, The New York Times described Rosas as “a complex, haunting work…Riveting and exhausting, fascinating and relentless, brilliant and tedious, it is a mesmerizing exploration of synchronicity, patterning and rhythm.” In 2013, Keersmaeker posted a portion of the choreography online, inviting the world to "make their own dance remixes." This choreography, called The fABULEUS Rosas Remix Project, has been staged throughout the world and over 600 uploads can be viewed at rosasdanstrosas.be. 

RVDE is composed of current RVCC students, alumni and community members, and provides the College and greater community with opportunities to experience and appreciate live dance performance. The touring Ensemble performs at local schools and community groups each semester, as well as at campus events. For information about scheduling a lecture/performance for a school, senior center, or community group, contact Professor Fois at [email protected].  

There is no charge to attend the performance. Those attending are asked to wear masks and maintain social distance. For additional information or to check on weather updates, call 848-391-5932.    RVCC is located at 118 Lamington Road in Branchburg, New Jersey.