The State Dance Company Will Perform Mullins’ Choreography at Interdisciplinary Space-Themed Piano Recital

NC State dance director Tara Mullins and students in the State Dance Company have created space-inspired movement metaphors for the piano and visual recital “…Our passage to the stars” presented by associate professor in music Olga Kleiankina on Sunday, Feb. 4 at 4 p.m. in Stewart Theatre. In this non-traditional music performance, Kleiankina brings together galaxy-inspired music, real-time computer graphics and modern dance –– all created by NC State faculty members in the College of Design, the College of Humanities and Social Sciences and the Arts NC State. “The modern music is complex and requires our attention and effort to understand it. I find it is much easier for today’s listeners to relate to the sound if they also have a visual component. That is how the idea of a collaboration came up,” Kleiankina said.  To design computer-generated animations in real-time at Kleiankina’s performance, new media artist and assistant professor of Art + Design at NC State Emil Polyak will use acoustic waves produced by the piano. “Working on a space-themed project, it was inevitable to consider vibration as a mechanical phenomenon, the perfect arrangement of elements, frequency, amplitude, pitch and musical structure, all in place to hear, and to feel,” Polyak said. “I wanted to deconstruct the acoustic waves created by Olga, to discover visual gestures, weight and timing to bring my animations to life.” The program highlights two commissioned piano pieces that composer and conductor Peter Askim and composer of computed music Rodney Waschka, both faculty in the NC State Department of Music, created specifically for the recital. Join Olga Kleiankina and experience an imaginary journey to the stars, where one can think about the universe and raise questions about the complexity of human existence. Prices for “…Our passage to the stars” are $5 for NC State students; $8 for NC State faculty and staff, senior citizens and non-NC State students; and $10 for the general public. For tickets and more information, visit music.arts.ncsu.edu or call Ticket Central at 919-515-1100 (M-F, 1-6pm). Free parking is available in the Coliseum Parking Deck after 5 p.m.