Performing Arts

A Celebration of Dance at Western Carolina University

A Celebration of Dance at Western Carolina University

Don Quixote from the Bolshoi Ballet in Moscow. Photo by Damir Yusupov

From Tuesday, December 4, through Sunday, December 9, Western Carolina University (WCU) will host a celebration of dance featuring presentations from the WCU School of Stage and Screen, WCU Arts and Cultural Events (ACE) and Bardo Arts Center. The week kicks off with a presentation of The Nutcracker by ACE at Bardo Arts Center on Tuesday, December 4, at 7:30 p.m.

The celebration is anchored by performances of an original work by the WCU School of Stage and Screen, Light Chasers. Based on a 2010 concept album by the same name from the band Cloud Cult, the performance was created by Jayme McGhan, director of the School of Stage and Screen; Ashlee Wasmund, dance program director; and Liz Borom, faculty in the WCU Dance Program. “Cloud Cult’s album by the same name explores the experience of a husband and wife losing a young child,” says Wasmund. “In the album, the parents board a spaceship on a sort of celestial journey to reconnect with their child.” Tayler Harris, a member of the dance ensemble, says this is what makes the work so inspiring: the creative use of dance to tell a story. “It’s truly a compelling work of art that showcases how one couple experiences love, life, birth and death,” says Harris. Light Chasers will be performed at the Hoey Auditorium Thursday through Saturday, December 6–8, at 7:30 p.m.

The celebration’s closing event, a screening of Don Quixote by the Bolshoi Ballet, will be held on Sunday, December 9, at 3 p.m. Part of the Bardo Arts Center Sunday Cinema Series, the presentation is a pre-recorded performance screening shown in HD on the large screen in the Bardo Arts Center Performance Hall.

Tickets to Light Chasers are $10 for students, $15 for seniors 65+ and $20 for adults. Bardo Arts Center is located at 199 Centennial Drive in Cullowhee. Hoey Auditorium is located at 176 Central Drive in Cullowhee. To learn more, visit Arts.WCU.edu/calendar.

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