The Sharon Disney Lund School of Dance Presents MFA II Christie Nelson-Sala's Thesis Concert, TURF

The Sharon Disney Lund School of Dance at CalArts presents Christie Nelson Sala’s MFA II graduate thesis, TURF, April 8-10, 2010 at 8pm in CalArts Sharon Disney Lund Dance Theater. The event is free and open to the public.

TURF is a mesmerizingly powerful work of daring beauty, absolute athleticism, and visceral impact. The evening length work is a collaborative effort between Nelson-Sala and CalArts visual student artists Nick Percell (lighting design), Ariel Boroff (costume design), and Hector Machado (stage management). 

“The entire choreographic and collaborative experience was very different and exciting for me. It was the process and collaboration itself that was integral to making the work come to life,” says choreographer Nelson-Sala.

TURF explores how our social and cultural upbringing creates a unique personal language of physical gesture. The piece investigates how this physical language supports and/or hinders developing relationships between people communicating in different body language idioms. Inspired from her own national and international travel where Nelson-Sala created relationships within different communities, TURF explores how culture and location impact our body language.

Choreographed for nine dancers, “I specifically chose to work with performers of diverse cultural backgrounds,” says Nelson-Sala. The dancers' anecdotal information was drawn from their own signature body vocabulary, concepts of socially appropriate/ inappropriate physical engagement, and personal perspectives. This movement was then used as the basis for character development. Nelson-Sala directed and shaped their stories into a final presentation that honors the lives of dancers, while demonstrating her unique personal interests. Her objective was to expose facets of physical communication that we are not always aware of mentally, and give them a new awareness.

TURF has transformed the Sharon Disney Lund Dance Theater. Nelson-Sala chose to shift the audience perspective to the stage left side of theater which allows the space to open up dramatically. With lights hanging randomly from the rafters and loose earth-like substance covering the floor, TURF creates a compelling world of its own.  “The set was actually something we all decided on together,” says Nelson-Sala. "I had originally wanted to work with a wall that would deteriorate. Instead our ‘turf’ became the symbol of this deterioration, which is a metaphor for much of what is now happening in the world."

For more information about the CalArts Sharon Disney Lund School of Dance, visit www.calarts.edu/dance

Don't forget to mark your calendar for our upcoming dance events. 

Dice Thrown, an opera directed by John King, April 23 and 24, 8:30 p.m. Walt Disney Modular Theater

Spring Dance Concert, May 5 and 7, 8 p.m.

NEXT Dance Concert, May 6 and 8, 8 p.m.

NEXT Dance Company at REDCAT, May 14 and 15, 8:30 p.m.

Last Dance Concert, May 19 and 20, 7 p.m.

All performances take place in the Sharon Disney Lund Theater unless otherwise noted.