"Le Corphyeux" to take stage

By Shannon Milliken
The Collegian

Lindsay Settle had been dancing her whole life and was just looking through the class catalog for any dance class when she found Dance 115, also known as University Dance Theatre.

Now a sophomore at Fresno State, Settle is in her third semester of University Dance Theatre, and she is choreographing two dances and performing in six that will appear in the class’s concert, “Le Corphyeux,” which runs this weekend.

The concert is a production done every semester, and performing in it is a main reason why Settle keeps taking the class.

“It’s just an adrenaline rush when you do it,” Settle said. “As soon as you leave the stage you want to do it again.”

A lot of students come back to the class for the same reason, Settle said.

The teacher for University Dance Theater, Kenneth Balint, agrees with Settle. He also believes students take the class because it invites their creativity in what he hopes is an “empowering process.”

Students in the class are usually from other majors beside dance, but they like Dance 115 enough they find room in their schedule to take it a couple of times.

This semester there are 34 students and about half are returning dancers.

Balint lets students in the class decide if they want to perform or choreograph in the class’s semester concert, and he lets them create the dances they want to for it. He tries not to give restrictions or a theme to his students.

“Themes stifle creativity,” Balint said. “If there’s a theme, it’s that there is no theme.”

He enjoys this about the class and the concert each semester, because it turns out different each time.

This semester’s title was actually chosen by the student creating the poster for the concert, after all the pieces had been created. Balint said “Le Corphyeux” is a French term for creating art.

“I heard it and I thought it was strange and interesting enough that it might catch people’s attention, so we went with it,” Balint said.

In addition to performing and choreographing for the concert, the students in Dance 115 also run the show. The dancers are the stage managers, the light crew and the sound crew.

Part of the experience of the class is learning the performance isn’t the whole show, Balint said. The concert is almost completely student created and student run.

“I try to get involved only when necessary and stay out of their hair whenever possible,” Balint said.

“It’s not my experience, I want it to be their’s.”

That is, up until the week of the concert. University Dance Theatre is just one of five classes Balint teaches, but this week it is all of his time as he prepares for the four upcoming performances starting Thursday.

This semester the concert will include a little of everything, from jazz to ballet, from modern to hip-hop.

Also, videos will be a part of some of the pieces, which will be a duet of live dance with video background.

Usually, the semester end concert sells out, but at this point there are still available tickets.

“Come, relax and be entertained,” Balint said.

“Le Corphyeux” runs Thursday- Saturday at 8 p.m., with a matinee at 2 p.m. on Saturday.

The concert will be held in Lab School 101, located just east of the Student Health Center.

Tickets are $5 and can be purchased at the Box Office in the Speech Arts building or online at www.csufresno.edu/Theatre.

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