NATCHITOCHES – The Northwestern State University Dance Company will present Modern in Motion VII on Oct. 22, 24 and 25 at 7 p.m. at the Cane River Brewery at 108 Mill Street in Natchitoches. Tickets to the Oct. 22 Gala Performance are $50, which includes a reception sponsored by the Natchitoches Historic District Development Commission. Tickets on Oct. 24 and 25 are $10 and $5 for students.

Choreographers include Rebecca Morgan (tap) Crystal Lewis, Brett Alan Garfinkel and Jared Doster (modern) and Kirstin Riehl (contemporary ballet).

“Having Modern in Motion VII at the Cane River Brewery Company is exciting for me because of how industrial the space is and to see beautiful dancing against that backdrop allows for a very interesting contrast,” said Garfinkel, who is head of the Department of Theatre and Dance and an associate professor of dance. “There is no storyline for the show so people are allowed to take in the choreography and enjoy the movement in the space.”

The cast is Leyla Fettweis of Brussels, Belgium, Jose Jose Arrieta of Cartagena, Colombia, Mary Strickland of New Orleans, Erin Fallis of Pineville, John Jefferson of Shreveport, Tara Lane of Little Rock, Arkansas, Abigail Miller of Slidell, Alphonse Engram of DeRidder, Natalye Bradley of Lafayette, Maci Burt of Mandeville, Sara Grace Duplessis of Prairieville, Ashley Henry of Slidell, Brittany Davis of Shreveport and D’Sherrick Williams of Marshall, Texas.

Past performances of Modern in Motion have been held around Natchitoches at the Louisiana Sports Hall of Fame and Northwest Louisiana History Museum, the Sweet Cane Inn, Lee H. Nelson Hall, the headquarters of the National Center for Preservation Technology and Training, and Beau Jardin on the downtown riverbank.

“I really love the concept of dancing in a space that is not supposed to be used for that,” said Fettweis, a sophomore dance and psychology major, who appeared in Modern in Motion VI. “It challenges the choreographers and the dancers and it’s also a nice change to the usual ‘staged’ shows we do in AA Fredericks. It gives us a breath of fresh air that I really enjoy. It also gives the audience a way to feel more present and part of the show instead of just watching it in a chair from afar. It allows them to see the dancers under a new eye, in a more intimate way.”

Fettweis said Cane River Brewery will provide a contrast to last year’s performance at Louisiana Sports Hall of Fame and Northwest Louisiana History Museum.

“The museum piece was very flowy and pretty. This year we tried to really emphasize the industrial feeling that we get at the brewery,” she said. “The space is also very different and interesting to work in.”

For ticket information, contact Garfinkel at garfinkelb@nsula.edu or at (318) 357-5793.