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News Release

Last modified: Tuesday, April 14, 2009

Choreographers and composers collaborate for fourth annual "Hammer and Nail" concert

WHAT: "Hammer and Nail" presented by IU Jacobs School of Music, IU Contemporary Dance
WHEN: Saturday, April 18 and Sunday, April 19; Program A at 4 p.m., Program B at 7:30 p.m.
WHERE: Buskirk-Chumley Theatre
TICKETS: FREE; public is encouraged to bring a food donation for Hoosier Hills Food Bank

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
April 14, 2009

BLOOMINGTON, Ind. -- The Indiana University Bloomington Contemporary Dance Program and Jacobs School of Music Student Composer Association have teamed up for the fourth year in a row to create the "Hammer and Nail" concert. This year's event will feature 14 new works created by a group of 30 student artists.

The performances will be at the Buskirk-Chumley Theatre Saturday, April 18 and Sunday, April 19 with two programs each evening: program A will be at 4 p.m. and program B at 7:30 p.m. Admission is free but guests are encouraged to bring a non-perishable food item or cash donation as part of a new community partnership -- "Dance-Dine-Donate." All collections will go to Hoosier Hills Food Bank, and those who donate will receive a coupon for participating downtown restaurants.

Jonn Sokol, second-year Jacobs School of Music doctoral student, and Utam Moses, a third-year undergraduate Contemporary Dance student, began their collaboration with "speed dating," as did all the other composer/dancer pairs. In the fall, students interested in "Hammer and Nail" sat across from each for two to three minutes, discussed what they were looking for in a partner, and then moved on to the next dancer or composer to do the same. Sokol and Moses were a match from the beginning.

"I did 'Hammer and Nail' last year and Utam danced in the piece I wrote. I knew I wanted to compose for this year's concert, and she was the first choreographer that I thought of," said Sokol.

The two say that working together has worked out wonderfully. Sokol composed on his own but said that as they continued to meet and discuss their intentions a lot of things began to click.

"As we both talked more about what we were trying to express in the music and dance, we found that a lot of the ideas were fundamentally the same," said Sokol.

Moses echoed Sokol's thoughts and thinks the piece he composed was completely in line with what she was thinking. Her original thoughts revolved around playing with time. She said she wanted to create a tangible environment for the piece that was "other worldly." Last summer she studied with Suprapto Suryodarmo, an Indonesian dancer, whose work has really influenced her choreographic style.

"He does a lot of slow tempo movement based on a concept space; there's a lot of stillness and slow movement to generate a different sense of time," Moses said.

When choreographing her "Hammer and Nail" piece, "A Strange Peace," she specifically focused on relationships and longing especially after a trauma.

"For example, after someone leaves you, there's a sense of absence -- either of the self or of a way to relate to the environment -- because your world so completely shifted," Moses said. "There's a slowing down, reorientation when experimenting how to relate again to other people."

The artists say that collaboration between music and dance is a unique and rewarding experience, both visually and mentally.

"It's been so amazing," said Moses. "I find so much inspiration working with other people. The ideas are pushed to another level when you have input from others who are all so passionate about what's going on."

Sokol's ensemble is composed of five musicians including a vocalist, and Moses choreographed for four dancers. The pair's performance is the first of program B, which begins at 7:30 p.m.

"Hammer and Nail" was originally an annual event put on by the Student Composers Association of the Jacobs School of Music. Each year, the students would work with different instrumental groups -- one year, for example, they would compose for piano students, while the next year would involve the violin studio. The idea of working with dance students came about through a faculty collaboration between Elizabeth Shea, clinical assistant professor and coordinator of the IU Contemporary Dance program, and Jeff Hass, professor of music, Jacobs School of Music.

"Jeff and I had done a couple projects together, and we had a really good time collaborating music and dance," Shea said. "He told me about the Student Composer Association and the 'Hammer and Nail' concert and he said, 'Wouldn't it be great if they could write works for dance?' And I said, 'That's a fabulous idea!'"

The first year, five composers wrote works for dance and five others wrote for cellists. The concert was held at the Waldron Arts Auditorium, and while it was a very different experience for the composers, the event was "wildly successful," said Shea.

"Everyone was very impressed with what composers and dancers did together," Shea said. "People were flowing out of the doors."

It only took one year for "Hammer and Nail" to become an annual concert. The second year, all student composers in the Association were interested in writing pieces for dance. Each year the concert grew. By the third year, it was moved to the Buskirk-Chumley Theatre to accommodate the crowd and bring the concert closer to the community.

"The Buskirk is an amazing theater -- there's a feeling of warmth and community," Shea said. "Our goal is to bring dance to community. That's why it's free and at a theater downtown."

"Dance-Dine-Donate" is a new addition to this year's event. Dancers, composers and involved faculty will bring donations. The timing of the two programs each night is designed for concert-goers to go to one of the participating restaurants and use the coupon given upon donating non-perishable food items.

"We have students who really care about community health and wellness, so why not turn this into a charitable event as well?" Shea said.

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