RVCC dancers rehearse Draconian Lullaby for DanceWorks. Photo by Heather Favretto

(BRANCHBURG, NJ) -- Raritan Valley Community College’s (RVCC) Arts & Design department will present DanceWorks, an evening of student and faculty dance performances, April 27 and 28 at 7:00pm each night. 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 concert will include dance works from students, faculty, and guest artists. Student choreography includes pieces by Elanna Etemad (Warren), Nathan Forster (Warren), Michelle Lukach (Hillsborough), Matthew Maxcy (Bradley Beach), Mark Negron (New Brunswick), Vaugh Newsome (North Plainfield), Emily Stecher (Berkeley Heights),  and Alison Stone (Bridgewater). The student choreography is the culmination of a semester of classwork, as the students created and rehearsed the new works to be performed.

Visiting artist Heather Favretto (Edison), who has danced with Pilobolus, will present Draconian Lullaby. The whimsically serious dance is about new endings and old beginnings, grasping onto straws and gasping for air when you feel like you're drowning. The piece reflects on memories and looks toward to the future with the hope of continuing to laugh with our loved ones. In addition, Kathleen Amalfitano (Basking Ridge), RVCC ballet faculty, will present a ballet quartet, Passages in Time, a conceptual piece about time. The dancers’ relationship to time interplays throughout the piece, with solo and partnering work along with swirling pathways and formations.

Many students appearing in the concert also perform with the Raritan Valley Dance Ensemble (RVDE), under the direction of Loretta Fois. Ensemble members include current RVCC students, alumni, and community members. In conjunction with the Arts & Design department, RVDE 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 lfois@raritanval.edu.

General admission tickets to DanceWorks cost $12 for general admission, $8 for students and seniors. For tickets, call 908-725-3420. For additional information, call 908-218-8876.

Raritan Valley Community College (RVCC) is located at 118 Lamington Road in Branchburg, New Jersey.