Rose\u2019s work, \u201cSing Me To Heaven,\u201d brings literal voices of grace to the Newhart Theatre through a collaboration with choir director Steven Betancourt and Schola Cantorum, Loyola’s Liturgical Choir. The choir will perform live in the Newhart Family Theatre, accompanying the dancers for all four performances of Voces Gratia<\/em>.<\/p>\n Rose\u2019s piece, along with his residency at Loyola, has grown significantly since planning began two years ago. As a long-time friend of Sandra Kaufmann, Director of Loyola Dance, from back when they both lived in New York, the residency developed from Rose\u2019s desire to leave New York City and Kaufmann\u2019s need for a guest artist who could do more than set one dance piece.<\/p>\n The residency coincides with Kaufmann\u2019s semester on sabbatical, which means along with choreographing for the annual dance concert, Rose is also teaching Dance majors and minors in Modern III and Ballet IV\u2014classes that Kaufmann normally teaches. This semester, the classes focus on dance and music theory, a skill that Rose refined as Rehearsal Director for the Mark Morris Dance Group where he was constantly communicating with the live musicians who travel and perform with the company.<\/p>\n During his semester at Loyola, Rose hopes to impart deeper care for the musicality of movement onto the dance students at Loyola.<\/p>\n \u201cPedagogically the thing I see most is that people aren\u2019t musically confident,\u201d Rose said. \u201cI want to also give [the dancers] the tools to not only be able to talk to an accompanist, but I think it\u2019s useful to have if you\u2019re choreographing as well, and if you decide to use music as part of the structure to the dance, that you can also express yourself in musical terms.\u201d<\/p>\n This expertise in music expression led Kaufmann to propose that Rose work with Betancourt and the liturgical choir. Over the summer and throughout the semester, Betancourt and Rose developed the musical framework for the piece, eventually landing on four songs to carry the almost 15-minute dance.<\/p>\n For Rose, \u201cSing Me To Heaven\u201d is in response to his daily habit of watching the news and to the anxiety that can come with the seeing the conflict in contemporary society every day.<\/p>\n \u201cThis work is something a bit deeper than these day-to-day concerns, even though they\u2019re important. But they\u2019re political, they\u2019re not spiritual concerns, which I think sometimes is addressing the more existential questions of life,\u201d Rose said. \u201cWhy are we here? What is the purpose of love? In a very abstract way, I\u2019m hoping that this dance will be some sort of message for unity. People kind of need that right now.\u201d<\/p>\n As for the themes behind the dance concert as a whole, Rose hopes that his piece will complement the other works in Voces Gratia:<\/em><\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s interesting too, programmatically, that the whole evening is called that, and I\u2019m lucky enough to have a choir\u2014so that hammers that message home,\u201d Rose said with a joking grin.<\/p>\n The other works in Voces Gratia<\/em> confront themes of social justice as well as love and beauty. Senior Dance major, Maria Blanco, uses her voice to rally around the unapologetic woman in \u201cRazor Burn\u201d and brings movement, razors, and other elements to the stage to which any audience member can relate.<\/p>\n \u201cDance of the Blessed Spirits,\u201d Isadora Duncan\u2019s historical modern work from the early 20th <\/sup>century, uses movement in a unique restaging by Jennifer Sprowl to retell the trials and triumphs of the Greek character, Orfeo, and his challenging journey through the underworld.<\/p>\n Other pieces include \u201cReba\u201d by Amy Wilkinson, Artistic Director of the dance concert\u2014which first premiered in Rome over the summer\u2014and two classical ballet excerpts which feature duet partnering and skilled corps de ballet work.<\/p>\n Following Voces Gratia<\/em>, Rose will have a few weeks to close out his semester with the dance students before heading back to his current home in Santa Fe, New Mexico. As he enters a new phase in his career post New York and post Mark Morris Dance Group, Rose wants to explore Albuquerque\u2019s growing film scene. He hopes to put his Rehearsal Director experience to use as a Production Assistant behind-the-scenes.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s interesting because I\u2019m at the end of my career and you all are at the beginning of yours, and I think that this department gives people a really good foundation from which to spring if you want to go professionally, if you want to go pedagogically, if you want to do something else,\u201d Rose said. \u201cThe vibe here [at Loyola] is fantastic and very supportive, and that\u2019s not always true in dance.\u201d<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/blogs.luc.edu\/loyoladancetheatre\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/11\/37990244446_5630457eb9_z.jpg\")
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