CCM DANCE SERIES PRESENTS
April 13-16, 2023, Corbett Auditorium
Dance Department Supporter
The Corbett Endowment at CCM
*CCM student
Fairies, Swans and Still Waters will run approximately 95 minutes, including a short pause and one 15-minute intermission
Enjoy a behind-the-scenes look at the making of “Still Waters” in this new video produced as part of CCM’s Production Master Class led by Melissa Godoy.
The department collaborates with practicing professionals in diverse fields and with departments within CCM and the university including the orchestra, symphony, costumes, lighting design and MA/MBA arts administration faculty and students.
The program is designed to expose and inspire, rooting in both traditional and contemporary styles, and approaches to performance and technique leading towards a Bachelors of Fine Arts (BFA) degree for traditional incoming freshmen and a Bachelors of Arts (BA) for current company dancers or retired professionals desiring to complete or earn their bachelors. The degrees are accredited by the National Association of Schools of Dance (NASD).
Emphasizing a mind, body, spirit balance between technical dedication and artistic aesthetic through a holistic approach to health, wellness and fitness. This includes dedicated physical therapists, embedded counselors, and opportunities for students to earn advanced standing for summer activities, study abroad, senior year co-operative internships and international art and cultural travel opportunities. Curriculum includes ballet, pointe, variations, men’s technique, modern, contemporary, jazz, choreography, dance and ballet history, pedagogy, somatics, professional practice, ensemble, repertoire and audition techniques. The department presents two mainstage concerts and one Student Choreographers Concert. Mainstage concerts feature one act and full ballets and original works by faculty and guest choreographers across a wide range of classical, contemporary, dance theater and trending movement styles and aesthetics.
Special thanks to Rodney & Laurie Gasch, Will Brenner, Dr. Kyuran Ann Choe, Dr. Michael Donaworth, Rachel Gleason, Rose Smith, Heather Graden, Alan Husarchik, Dale Pickett and Diana Queen of Diana’s Dancewear. The Dance Department gratefully acknowledges the support of The Corbett Endowment at CCM.
Program note:
Several fairies are invited to the ceremony to bestow gifts on the christening of the Princess. Each fairy brings a gift of a virtue or positive trait, such as beauty, courage, sweetness, musical talent and mischief. The powerful Lilac Fairy arrives with her entourage, but before she can bestow her gift, the evil fairy Carabosse arrives with her minions, angrily demanding to know why she did not receive an invitation. Carabosse curses Princess Aurora and foretells that she will indeed grow up to be a beautiful and accomplished, but on her 16th birthday she will prick her finger on a spindle and die. Horrified, the King and Queen beg for mercy, but no quarter is given. However, because the Lilac Fairy has yet to bestow her blessing is able to intervene. Though she does not have the power to completely undo the curse, she is able to alter and unravel the ‘death’ aspect. Aurora will indeed prick her finger on a spindle but instead of dying, it will cause a peaceful 100-year sleep for the princess and all those within the realm, rather than death. At the end of those 100 years, she will be woken by true loves kiss.
Note from the Choreographer:
This began as a small seed, just an idea casually discussed with Aik Khai Pung when we spoke last year of how orchestra and dance would be working together in spring of 2023. Would dance be interested in collaborating with a 2nd year DMA student to create an original composition and original choreography? It then became a fully collaborative project that inspired multiple departments and students, including costume design students, lighting design students and media production students. Which is exactly what ‘Still Waters’ was meant to embody, that nothing is ever really what we see on the surface but if we take the time to share our inner selves, we then begin to see the rich color and texture, trust and faith that others will share with us. While there were many inspirations for the movement sequences, the motif played with most was what does the ’ground’ mean? What is the force or texture or weight in the ‘low space’ can it be embodied in high space? My creative point for two of the choreographic sequences was the poem that Grace shared.
Note from the Composer:
We can observe various forms of the sea. Its surface is sometimes calm and sometimes dynamic. Its color also changes from moment to moment as the light in the sky changes. It makes us feel various emotions, and sometimes it makes us romantic. On the other hand, the deep sea is always calm. It is unaffected by the outside world and is covered in muddy darkness. I expressed the moment when these two irreconcilable parts meet and accept each other through music with the meaning of inclusion and sacrifice.
Program Note:
Prince Siegfried arrives at the lakeside, just as a flock of swans land, He aims his crossbow but freezes when one of them transforms into a beautiful maiden named Odette. At first, she is terrified of him. When he promises not to harm her, she explains that she and her companions are victims of a spell cast by the evil owl-like sorcerer, named Rothbart. By day they live as bespelled swans. Only at night, by the side of the enchanted lake, do they return to human form. The spell can only be broken if one who has never loved before swears to love Odette forever. Rothbart suddenly appears, Siegfried threatens to kill him, but Odette intercedes – if he dies before the spell is broken, it can never be undone.
As Rothbart disappears, the swan maidens fill the clearing, Siegfried breaks his crossbow, and sets about winning Odette's love and trust. But as dawn arrives, the evil spell draws Odette and her companions back to the lake and they once again are transformed into graceful swans.
Aik Khai Pung, music director and conductor
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March 5, 2026
UC College-Conservatory of Music presents Dance Works, playing March 5-7 in Patricia Corbett Theater. Tickets are on sale through the CCM Box Office.
January 23, 2026
Experience world-class performances by the next generation of performing and media artists at the University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music (CCM)! The college's spring 2026 schedule of major events is now available; tickets are on sale now through the CCM Box Office.
January 12, 2026
Show your school spirit this spring with official CCM apparel! New UC College-Conservatory of Music apparel is available for purchase online. CCM's Spring 2026 apparel can be ordered online now through Feb. 2, 2026. You can preview five wearable items below.
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The House Manager has been instructed to minimize the disturbance to patrons already seated when accommodating latecomers. The director and producer of each production select times that are least likely to interrupt the performance, and latecomers will be seated only during these times. Latecomers who miss these opportunities will not be admitted until intermission. Children under the age of 6 will not be admitted.
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CCM's faculty and staff and its state-of-the-art facilities make possible the professional training and exceptional education on which CCM believes the future of the arts relies. The school's roster of eminent faculty regularly receives distinguished honors for creative and scholarly work, and its alumni have achieved notable success in the performing and media arts. More than 150 internationally recognized faculty members work with students from around the world, specializing in eight areas of study.
Performance dates and repertoire are subject to change. View CCM's current calendar of events.
The purpose of these performances is educational, and they are part of a University of Cincinnati academic program.