Cornell students and faculty will present "SHED: An Evening of Intermedia Dance in Three Episodes," an evening-length program of choreography accompanied by students' original music and projections. The culmination of a year-long study of "New/Futurism: Installation, Intermedia, Interactive & Immersive Dance," the performance also features the work of influential choreographer Merce Cunningham (1919-2009) and highlights collaboration among art forms.
The event - the 2025 Annual Spring Dance Presenting Series - will take place April 25-26 at 7:30 p.m. in the Kiplinger Theatre, Schwartz Center for the Performing Arts. Reserve a free ticket here.
"SHED" is comprised of three dance pieces, each about 15 minutes in length. Performing and media arts dance faculty members Danielle Russo and Olive Prince each choreographed one piece. The third piece is an arrangement of choreography by Merce Cunningham. As a whole, the performance explores cycles of technological revolution and the existential transcendence, and at times, ruin and debris that can follow, said Russo, assistant professor of the practice in performing and media arts in the College of Arts and Sciences (A&S). "In 2024-25 we have been investing in programming work at the intersection of dance performance, technology and new media," Russo said. "We are encouraging our students to not only consider how they are experimenting, exploring and cross examining this intersection in their own practice, but also a broader psychocultural, socio-political conversation, as well."
The three pieces are arranged in a tight collaboration that explores Merce Cunningham's influential innovation - and rule-breaking - for concert dance, both in the field and at Cornell, where he and his company have a longstanding legacy, Russo said.
