RVCC to Present Student, Faculty Dance Performances
Raritan Valley Community College's Arts & Design department will present DanceWorks, an evening of student and faculty dance performances, May 1 and 2, at 7 p.m. The event will be held in the Edward Nash Theatre at the College's Branchburg campus. The Director of RVCC's dance program, Loretta Fois, will produce the concert.
The concert will include dance works from students and guest artists. Student choreography includes pieces by Gianna Bovino (North Plainfield), Yailene Caicendo (North Plainfield), Jia Chen (Branchburg), Amanda Diaz (Middlesex), Elanna Etemad (Warren), Dina Grinis (Middlesex), Mariella Klinger-Seamon (Highland Park), Kira Lospinoso (Annandale), Arianna McLean (East Brunswick), Vaughn Newsome (Somerset), Bill Rich (Easton, PA), and Cedric Thomas (Branchburg). The student choreography is the culmination of a semester of classwork as the students create and rehearse the new works to be performed.
The concert also will feature Silence, choreographed by Elanna Etemad, an RVCC alum and returning student, and danced by current students Cedric Thomas and Arianna McLean. This duet employs dance and American Sign Language (ASL), laying the foundation for the movement vocabulary developed to create the dance. Powerful lyrics layer over the dancers as they strive to find their voices before the conversation ends. Silence was selected for the Gala at the 2025 Northeast American College Dance Conference and as an alternate for the 2025 National American Dance concert in Washington, DC.
In addition to the student work, the concert also celebrates the Raritan Valley Dance program's connection with the Career and Technical Education (CTE) Dance Program at Franklin Township High School. Through an articulation agreement, Franklin Township High School dance students are eligible for college credit and advanced standing in two RVCC dance courses. Franklin students will perform Paradise, choreographed by Eric Parra from the Limon Dance Company. This modern dance quartet embodies a rhythmical fusion of styles that sweeps through the space.
Many students appearing in the concert also perform with the Raritan Valley Dance Ensemble (RVDE) under the direction of Loretta Fois. Ensemble members include current RVCC students, alumni, and community members. In conjunction with the Arts & Design department, RVDE provides the College and greater community opportunities to experience and appreciate live dance performances. The touring Ensemble performs at local schools and community groups each semester and at campus events. For information about scheduling a lecture/performance for a school, senior center, or community group, contact Professor Fois at lfois@raritanval.edu.
General admission tickets to DanceWorks cost $12 for general admission, $8 for students and seniors, and $5 for alumni. For tickets, call 908-725-3420. For additional information, call 908-218-8876.
RVCC is located at 118 Lamington Road in Branchburg, NJ. For further information, visit www.raritanval.edu.
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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
April 23, 2025
PR #94
