Interdisciplinary Arts Institute Collaborates with Concord Academy Dance Students

The Berklee Interdisciplinary Arts Institute collaborates with Concord Academy dance students for six performances, April 25–27.

April 10, 2013

The Berklee Interdisciplinary Arts Institute (BIAI) provides opportunities for musicians and composers to collaborate with artists from other domains, including contemporary dance, theater, video/sculpture installation, and experimental performance. Under the direction of Neil Leonard, electronic production and design professor, students have premiered such projects with collaborators in environments near and far, from public spaces and museums around Boston to universities and conservatories in Germany, Cuba, Italy, and China.

The next collaboration takes place at Concord Academy. Swerve is a cross-media production of music, dance, and projections featuring students from the BIAI and Concord Academy’s Dance Company. Leonard is the show’s music director, while Concord Academy’s Richard Colton and Jared Green oversee choreography and production. Guest artist Joshue Ott’s Interval Studio will create real-time computer graphic projections.

Swerve will be presented six times over three nights, April 25–27, at 6:30 p.m. and 8:30 p.m., at Concord Academy’s Student Health Center. Admission is $15. Concord Academy is located at 166 Main Street, Concord. For more information, visit concordacademy.org.

The students enrolled in the BIAI experience a range of multidisciplinary studies concentrating on performance, composition, improvisation, the social power of music, and many other subjects. They meet with leading artists, scholars, and program directors to gain firsthand knowledge of cutting-edge global arts and their societal impact. Program participants generate exciting new interdisciplinary work while developing aesthetic, analytical, and entrepreneurial skills.

Works by Leonard have been featured at the Venice Biennale, the Museum of Modern Art, and Carnegie Hall. His body of work includes sound/music for dance, theater, installation, and film, as well as jazz performance and composition for orchestra and mixed media. He was recently approved Fulbright Specialist Roster and will now be considered for program requests from overseas academic institutions that require someone with his expertise for scholarly exchanges.