UpDate - Vol. 13, No. 7, Page 7
October 14, 1993
Liz Lerman dancers visiting in October

     The Underground Railroad in Delaware will be the theme of an original
dance piece created by the Liz Lerman Dance Exchange while in residency in
Delaware, Oct. 18-29.
     Entitled Safe House: Still Looking, the piece has been commissioned by
the University of Delaware, with a grant from the Lila Wallace Reader's
Digest Fund. It will be performed when the troupe returns to Delaware in
May 1994.
     During the October residency, the company will present numerous
workshops throughout New Castle County to develop the piece. Several
workshops are scheduled at senior citizen centers and at area schools.
Lerman is well known for her work in dance with the senior citizen
population and will include local people in the May performance.
     Among the scheduled workshops is the Adult Dance Community Workshop,
which will take place from 6-8 p.m., Monday, Oct. 22, at the New Dance
Studio, located at Delaware and Haines Street in Newark, and the Workshop
for All Comers (for anyone of any age interested in dance) from 1-4 p.m.,
Saturday, Oct. 23, at the Wilcastle Ballroom on the University's Wilmington
campus.
     From these sessions, the company expects to create a dance piece for
and about Delaware residents that will look at the Underground Railroad
from a contemporary viewpoint. A central idea will be that "safe houses"
are still needed to protect us from crime, abuse and homelessness. In
addition to the choreographers, storyteller Jon Spelman will research the
project and narrate the final piece.
     The Liz Lerman Dance Exchange is a cross-generational, multicultural
company with members from age 22 to 70. Its goal is to involve all ages in
dance as a tool in creating a sense of community. By involving senior
citizens, Lerman seeks to break down the concept that old age is synonymous
with inactivity and dysfunction.
     Marti Collins-Owens, assistant director of alumni and University
relations, is helping to coordinate the project, which also has received
funding from the Delaware Division of the Arts, New Castle County Council
and executive offices, and the DuPont Co.
     For more information on the project or the All Comers Workshop, call
Collins-Owens at 831-8741.
     For more information on the Adult Dance Community Workshop, call Linda
Moore at 368-0365.