IU to present original work from choreographers, composers

With pieces that range from an interpretation of the game “rock, paper, scissors” to football as a metaphor for human interaction, the original work of emerging choreographers and composers will be performed in the two-part “Hammer and Nail” program on two different nights at the Buskirk-Chumley Theater.

This year marks the fifth annual “Hammer and Nail” concert, a collaborative effort between Indiana University’s Contemporary Dance Program in the School of Health, Physical Education and Recreation and the Jacobs School of Music’s Student Composer Association.

Admission is free and donations of food and/or cash contributions will be accepted for the Hoosier Hills Food Bank. Last year’s donations provided the food bank with 512 meals.

The programs are scheduled for April 15 and 16 with “Program A” starting at 6:30 p.m. and “Program B” starting at 8:30 p.m. both evenings.

This year 17 composer-choreographer pairings will each present an original piece of five minutes or less.

“Hammer and Nail” grew out of a collaborative project between Elizabeth Shea, clinical associate professor and coordinator of the Contemporary Dance Program, and Jeffrey Hass, a professor of music at the Jacobs School.

“We began working together with my choreography and his compositions and we thought, ‘Wouldn’t it be nice to take a successful collaboration and move it into the student ranks?’” Shea said in a press release.