Bodies in Space: between dance, art & technology

press release: This year marks the University of Wisconsin-Madison Dance Department’s 90th. Under the leadership of dance pioneer Margaret H'Doubler, UW-Madison became the first university to offer a degree program in dance in 1926. Nine decades later the department will celebrate this milestone with a 5-day festival, April 26-30, 2017, that will include six Alumni Concerts, eight panels/presentations, 20 master classes, IATECH Gallery Exhibit, Dance on Screen, and a lecture by renowned dance scholar Janice Ross.

IATECH Gallery Exhibit A cross-section of University of Wisconsin InterArts and Technology (IATECH) alumni from multiple generations of the program will present an exhibition titled "Bodies in Space: between dance, art & technology,” organized by Andrew Dayton (BS, 2006), in the School of Education Gallery, 1000 Bascom Mall, Education Bldg. The exhibit will officially open Friday, April 28 at 5:00 p.m. and will run through May 31, 2017. The range of media and subject matter will give viewers the sense of the program's diversity and freedom of exploration, demonstrate the program's roots in dance and movement, and explore the many different types of bodies and different spaces that can be used for creative discovery through technology. 

The InterArts and Technology (IATECH) program was an 18-year experiment in interdisciplinary arts education housed in the University of Wisconsin Dance program. Founded by a coalition of arts educators in 1988, the program's coursework cut across the UW campus to theater, fine arts, music, film & video, design, and of course dance & performance. As the name suggests, InterArts and Technology put a focus on new media alongside the interplay and juxtaposition of traditional forms. Housed in Lathrop Hall, IATech attracted artists from a wide range of disciplines, but maintained close ties with the University of Wisconsin Dance faculty and students. Dayton notes that the program shut its doors in 2006, but its legacy lives on with the students that called IATECH home.

More InformationThe 90th Anniversary Festival will take place April 26-30, 2017 in historic Lathrop Hall, 1050 University Avenue. The schedule is available below and online at http://go.wisc.edu/jj97x3. Events are free and open to the public.