Axe ’Em, Jacks!
NACOGDOCHES, Texas – The Stephen F. Austin State University College of Fine Arts will open its 2017-18 University Series with a performance of New York City-based dance company Taylor 2 at 7:30 p.m. Thursday, Sept. 14, in W.M. Turner Auditorium on the SFA campus.
A younger sibling to the Paul Taylor Dance Company, Taylor 2 brings the work of the modern dance world’s leading choreographer to life for audiences of all backgrounds. At 87, Taylor is the last working member of the generation of luminaries that launched modern dance in America.
“This is dance for everyone: accessible, athletic, emotionally powerful and really sexy – with a sense of humor, too,” said Scott Shattuck, associate dean of the College of Fine Arts and director of the University Series. “His smaller company brings us a more intimate performance but still delivers the same knockout excitement that Paul Taylor is well known for worldwide.”
Taylor 2 was established in 1993 to ensure that audiences all over the world could see Taylor’s works, unhindered by economic or technical limitations. The renowned choreographer worked with longtime colleague Linda Hodes to create a company that could perform at the highest level as well as teach and provide community outreach.
Taylor 2’s performance is sponsored in part by Cataract, Glaucoma & Retina Consultants of East Texas/Benchmark Optical/Medical Arts Surgery Center.
Prior to the performance, Heather Samuelson, assistant professor and co-coordinator of dance in the SFA Department of Kinesiology and Health Science, will present an informative talk at 7 p.m. in Griffith Gallery. The gallery is located across the hall from Turner Auditorium, which is inside the Griffith Fine Arts Building, 2222 Alumni Drive. The audience is invited back to the gallery for a post-performance reception to meet the dancers and to honor the event’s corporate sponsor.
Single event ticket prices for the University Series are $25 for adults, $20 for seniors and $10 for non-SFA students/youth. Tickets for SFA students are $3.
For more information or to purchase tickets, visit finearts.sfasu.edu, stop by the Box Office in Room 211 of the Griffith Fine Arts Building, or call (936) 468-6407 or (888) 240-ARTS.
Other upcoming University Series performances include Christmas with the Annie Moses Band on Dec. 12; Chanticleer on Jan. 19; The Mountaintop on Feb. 3; and The Barefoot Movement on March 8. Season tickets for the five-event series are $100 for adults, $80 for seniors and $40 for students/youth. A special Encore Event, the Moscow Ballet’s Great Russian Nutcracker, will kick off the holiday season on Nov. 16 and 17. Call for prices and discounts.