February Dance includes works experimenting with live music, technology and a ‘sneaker ballet’

The University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign's dance department presented "February Dance 2025: Fast Forward" from January 30 to February 1 at the Krannert Center for the Performing Arts. This event marked one of the inaugural performances in the newly renovated Colwell Playhouse Theatre. The program featured innovative works, including "Ayre," a collaboration between dance professor Rebecca Nettl-Fiol and soprano Elena Negruta, set to Osvaldo Golijov's song cycle blending Mediterranean, Arabic, and Jewish influences. Another highlight was "AGE," a contemporary "sneaker ballet" choreographed by professor Paige Caldarella and alumna Anna Peretz Rogovoy, performed in lightweight dance sneakers. Additionally, graduate student Banafsheh Amiri presented "Khazan (Autumn)," a thesis work drawing on Iranian artistic traditions to explore the history of Iranian women.

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