NewsMarlboro Senior Presents "Dancing Through Wonderland"

MARLBORO, VT – As part of her work as a graduating senior, Marlboro College student Jessica Merrill presents "Dancing Through Wonderland" Thursday and Friday, April 5-6, at 8 p.m. in the Whittemore Theater. This performance is free and open to the public.

Including a cast of over fifteen Marlboro students, residents, and alumni, Merrill’s original choreography is based on her readings of Lewis Carroll’s "Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland." Merrill’s interest in this book arose when she re-read it during her junior year. "It became very visual for me," she said. She choreographed two dances for last spring's dance performance, based on Carroll's stories of Tweedledee and Tweedledum, and the Cheshire Cat. "I received such a wonderful response that I decided to pursue my interest in the novel and do some more choreography based on it."

Merrill is presenting this performance as partial completion of her Plan of Concentration, Marlboro’s version of the undergraduate major. Students work one-on-one with faculty and write an extensive research paper and complete an independent project. Work is evaluated in an oral examination with an outside expert. For her research paper, Merrill is writing on how the characters in Wonderland help to invert Alice’s world to create her journey. She is also exploring dance composition and performance with an emphasis on narrative dance, and how narrative can influence body movement.

The Whittemore Theater is fully accessible. For more information on this or any other Marlboro College event, please call (802) 257-4333 or check out Marlboro online at www.marlboro.edu.