Sole to soul

UNC School of the Arts' "Fall Dance" promises something rare: four alumni works representing themes of love, women's strength, surrealism and veracity.

The concert features works created by former students of contemporary dance at the school. School officials say they can't recall the last time that happened. Trish Casey, one of the concert's four choreographers and an instructor at the school, wouldn't mind if it happened again.

"Our alums are treasures of the school," she said. "The more affiliation we have with them, the richer our blood becomes."

Casey's "From the Angle of an Angel's Eye" will be performed during "Fall Dance," along with Helen Simoneau's "Quelque Chose"; Juel Lane's "Touch and Agree"; and Grady McLeod Bowman's "The Persistence of Perception into Melting Expectation."

With the exception of Casey, all of the choreographers attended college at UNCSA between the late 1990s and 2005. Casey, who received a bachelor's degree from UNCSA in 1977, became a full-time instructor in 1989. Lane, Simoneau and Grady were Casey's composition or choreography students; they're guest artists during the run of "Fall Dance."

"It's like a reunion," Simoneau said.

Casey, a former professional dancer with several companies, described her "Angel's Eye" as spiritual in nature, with 13 women moving to everything from the hymn "Shall We Gather at the River" to Brian Eno's "Flint March."

"Angel's Eye" is "a piece about women's strength," Casey said. "It's a piece about waiting. It's a piece about the feminine. It's a piece that ponders the larger questions in life." She added that piece also explores community and connections.

Bowman has enjoyed a diverse career. This has included tours with Pilobolus as well as stints in the original productions of such Broadway shows as "Billie Elliott," "The Pirate Queen" and "Wonderland."

To create his piece for "Fall Dance," Bowman took eight paintings by Salvador Dali and, through choreography, explored themes and aspects of them. The piece also looks at important parts of Dali's life, including his relationship with his muse.

Bowman said that the set will also play an important role in the presentation of "Persistence of Perception."

"The set is always being manipulated by the dancers," he said. "They're either using it or moving it or sitting upon it. It's very much involved. Sometimes, they're putting things together. They're kind of constructing this world that they're inhabiting."

Lane danced with several companies, including the famed Ronald K. Brown/Evidence Dance Company, with which he toured nationally and internationally. In recent years, he's tried his hand at choreography. In 2008, "Transition to Truth," the first work he choreographed for a public performance, was presented by students as part of a well-received concert at UNCSA.

Lane emailed that "Touch and Agree" tells stories of the heart and love.

"We can't control who we love, we can only find a way to work through and remain happy," he emailed. "This piece opens the doors for same gender-loving people and hopefully the audience can appreciate that gay, lesbian, bisexual people are human as well."

Simoneau, a native of Quebec, has lived for several years in Winston-Salem with her husband, Thomas Wilson. Helen Simoneau Danse, Simoneau's dance company, presented its inaugural performances this past March in Hanesbrands Theatre. It will perform there again on March 1 and 2 of 2012.

"Quelque Chose" takes its name from a passage in one of the songs that Simoneau heard Jean Leloup, a pop artist, sing during her childhood in Quebec. "Quelque Chose" includes two songs by Leloup as well as original music by Wilson's brother John, a percussionist who accompanies dance performances at UNCSA.

In "Quelque Chose," for nine female dancers and five male dancers, Simoneau explores the contrast between fake and real.

"We often put a lot of effort into being someone other than ourselves," she said. "How often do we really let our guard down and let people see the real you?"