BOONE, N.C. – Students from the Department of Theatre and Dance Collaborative Process class have paired with Hayes School of Music Composition students to create new original dances with new original music to be performed together live. An informal showing of these new collaborative dance+music pieces will take place at 6pm on Wednesday November 5, 2025 in Rosen Concert Hall. Admission is free.
This collaborative effort began as a conversation between Assistant Professor of Dance Studies Chris Yon and Music Composition professors Roger Zare, Andrew Hannon, and Nicholas Cline after Yon went to see a screening of Buster Keaton's Sherlock Jr with new original score by music composition students played live by the Appalachian Symphony Orchestra in Spring 2025. A lightbulb immediately went off. What if we take this structure of scoring for film, which they did so wonderfully, and tried scoring for dance? We got everyone in the same room together, we set a date, and turned them loose to create!
The result is six short duets accompanied by a variety of live instrumentations.
- Anna Boswell+Bri Martin engage in a humorous tete a tete to Tom McLintock's "Showdown at the Coffeeshop" for piano and two saxophones.
- Louise Fullwood+Katie Carter take a slinky, jazzy turn to Matthew Claudio's "Parallel Worlds" for bass, piano, and saxophone.
- Liefke Carwyn+Taylor Quackenbush are following the violin and cello lines, respectively, in Silas Jackson's "Resonance"
- Thomas Dixon+Ella Wells reflect on how media shapes our sense of reality to Cole Larson's swirling and funky piano score.
- Elsie Currie collaborated with composer Maggie Martin to make an eerie piece for dancer, organ, and metronome in response to Edgar Allan Poe's "The Pit and the Pendulum."
- Madeline Cefalu+Avery Smith perform in counterpoint to the marimba and cello in Liam Dumaine's "When I See You Again."
Don't miss the single opportunity to witness This is Dance/Music: New Works by Collaborative Process and Music Composition Students on Wednesday November 5 at 6pm in Rosen Concert Hall!
Media Contact
For media inquiries, please contact Chris Yon, Assistant Professor, Theatre and Dance at yonct@appstate.edu, 828-262-2259 or P.J. Wirchansky, CFAA Communication Director, at wirchanskypj@appstate.edu, 828-262-7249.
###
About the Department of Theatre and Dance
One of seven departments housed in the College of Fine and Applied Arts, the Department of Theatre and Dance’s mission is to facilitate transformative experiences for students and the public, which cultivate compassionate, creative, and collaborative communities through theatre and dance. The department also offers coursework for integrated learning through the arts to the general university student population. Its dynamic co-curricular production program provides exemplary theatre and dance experiences to departmental students, the university community, and the region.
About the College of Fine and Applied Arts
Appalachian State University’s College of Fine and Applied Arts is a dynamic and innovative group of seven academic departments, bringing together a variety of perspectives, experiences, and real-world education to provide unique opportunities for student success. The college has more than 3,500 undergraduate and graduate majors. Its departments are Applied Design, Art, Communication, Military Science and Leadership, Sustainable Development, Sustainable Technology and the Built Environment, and Theatre and Dance.
About Hayes School of Music
Named for Mariam Cannon Hayes, the Hayes School of Music enrolls more than 475 students pursuing careers in the following fields: Music Education, Music Performance, Music Therapy, Sacred Music, Composition and Theory, Music Industry Studies, Jazz Studies, Graduate Music Studies. These programs are supported by more than 50 faculty, numerous performance ensembles, and modern academic and performance facilities.
About Appalachian State University
As the premier public undergraduate institution in the Southeast, Appalachian State University prepares students to lead purposeful lives as global citizens who understand and engage their responsibilities in creating a sustainable future for all. The Appalachian Experience promotes a spirit of inclusion that brings people together in inspiring ways to acquire and create knowledge, to grow holistically, to act with passion and determination, and to embrace diversity and difference. Located in the Blue Ridge Mountains, Appalachian is one of 17 campuses in the University of North Carolina System. Appalachian enrolls nearly 21,795 students, has a low student-to-faculty ratio, and offers more than 150 undergraduate and graduate majors.
Theatre and Dance Block Logo
Theatre and Dance Block Logo