North Carolina Dance Festival to Be Presented Oct. 20-22 The annual North Carolina Dance Festival is coming to Appalachian State University on Thursday, Oct. 20, through Saturday, Oct. 22, at Valborg Theatre. Each show will begin at 8 p.m. and will present various choreographers and companies from across North Carolina, including students and choreographers from Appalachian. The dance group alban elved is among the North Carolina Dance Festival’s performers. Tickets are $6 for students and $10 for all others. For more ticket information, call the box office at Valborg Theatre at 262-3063. This year’s festival provides an opportunity to see a wide sampling of the dance being performed and produced on a statewide level during one weekend of performances. “These concerts provide an opportunity to honor our own while getting to know dance artists whose works draw from life in the North Carolina community,” said founder Jan Van Dyke. The North Carolina Dance Festival began 15 years ago under Van Dyke’s directorship at UNC-Greensboro. Van Dyke’s goal was to promote North Carolina choreographers and dancers as well as to give them a venue in which to perform. In addition, the festival provides quality dance performances to areas of the state that do not readily have access to these artists. Appalachian’s Department of Theatre and Dance has been an original producer of this event since the touring component was introduced and is proud to be a continuing supporter of the festival. To commemorate this anniversary year, many of the most popular and well-received artists and companies from past years have been invited to return. The visiting dance companies on Thursday, Oct. 20, will include Gerri Houlihan, a freelance dance artist based in Durham, and alban elved dance, a company based in Winston-Salem and Brooklyn, NY, that is led by German choreographer Karola Lüttringhaus. The Friday, Oct. 21, performance features BJ Sullivan, a freelance choreographer and teacher based in Greensboro, Niki Juralewicz, who recently moved to Chapel Hill from New York City, and Nickwalk Dance Project, whose artistic director is Joan Nicholas-Walker of Raleigh. The Saturday, Oct. 22, performance includes Martha Connerton, founder of Martha Connerton/Kinetic Works based in Charlotte, dance festival director Jan Van Dyke from Greensboro, and Robin Harris, director of the dance program at NC State University in Raleigh. In addition, there will be several dances presented by Appalachian dance faculty members, and a dance student. Faculty members Emily Daughtridge, Susan Lutz, and Ray Miller have choreographed dances for this year’s festival. Daughtridge will present “Steadfast,” a new work for five dancers inspired by ancient music from the Isle of Gurnsey. The dance contrasts the brevity of daily life against the longevity of and memory of the landscape Miller, the new chair of the Department of Theatre and Dance, has choreographed a “sprite-like” piece that has the feel of a glass being full to over-flowing. The music is “Little Pony” by David Moore. The dance explores Miller’s recent move to the High Country. Lutz has choreographed a modern dance for eight women that explores the layers and complications in life that require people to choose and often change focus. Student choreographer Emily Montague has set a piece that explores the Myra Hornbacker quote “…and I was holding my breath so as not to cry. I wanted to cry.” The music is “Offering Chant” performed by Lama Gyurme and Jean Philippe Rykel. Sue Williams, a Department of Theatre and Dance faculty member, has designed costumes for the production. Additional collaboration includes faculty member Jeromy Hopgood and student Cameron Pence as lighting designers.