Kevin O’Connor and Folawole, Master of Fine Arts (MFA) candidates in the UC Davis Department of Theatre & Dance, will create and perform original works exploring themes of community and play in their MFA Thesis Choreographies showcase.

Performances are Feb. 16 to 26 in the Mondavi Center’s Vanderhoef Studio Theatre.

Folawole’s Light Phases will be comprised of four unique pieces that look deeply into joy, listening, light and trust. First, Folawole will interact with and respond to light work that light installation artist Chris Fraser has created for the stage. Folawole will perform alongside DJ Quest for his hip hop piece, giving Quest the chance to scratch and create new music inspired by Folawole’s dancing while Folawole creates choreography motivated by Quest.

In his ballet section, Folawole will continue the call-and-response theme by working with violinist Emily Palen, whom he first encountered performing on a street corner in San Francisco. He will also perform blindfolded solos and duets with Pacific Northwest Ballet principal dancer Maria Chapman and ballet dancer Jillian Davis.

Finally, the theatre-inspired section will utilize theatre and performance artists Afi Ayanna, Miriam Wolodarski and Iu-Hui Chua. All four sections will be linked together by the work of collaborating fashion designers Gabriel Russo and Ashley McKay.

Light Phases is “a play with light,” Folawole says. “Trust that night and day always have light.”

“Shall we keep moving?” he adds. “Nothing was ever lost, nothing can ever be taken. Look at what wakes us up, what takes us to sleep. Let us play.”

(Light Phases choreography is subject to change.)

Kevin O’Connor’s piece dis/connect (working title) was inspired by the work of cosmologist Brian Swimme, who writes that we should use our knowledge of science to reconnect with ecological bodies and embrace individuals as well as the larger community of all living things. O’Connor will apply this argument directly to the Mondavi Center and the history of the surrounding land including Putah Creek. He hopes to demonstrate the possibilities for creating a more open, interactive community in Davis in which art and action mix.

dis/connect  brings together elements of dance, circus arts, live vocals and multi-media. The work will be interactive as the various performers, including circus artists, dancers, and singers, will coexist with the audience throughout the Vanderhoef Studio Theatre. dis/connect will be partly choreographed and partly improvised. O’Connor hopes to give the audience the opportunity to engage with each other and the performers and discuss the questions raised by the piece.

O’Connor has collaborated with performance artists Emily Leap, Cohdi Harrell, Laura Stokes, Jorge Rodolfo de Hoyos Jr., Trelawny Rose and Virginia Schenck.

dis/connect explores “porous places,” O’Connor says. “How do we connect or disconnect with people, spaces and objects? How is community sensed? Is the body a kind of place? Why are we lonely?”

Please be advised that dis/connect contains partial nudity.

Related to this work, the choreographer will be teaching two family-friendly circus arts workshops that are free and open to the public on Sunday Feb. 5 at Mondavi Center. (Please note that all spaces have been filled.)  For more information on these and other free Institute for Exploration in Theatre, Dance and Performance workshops and events, please visit http://theatredance.ucdavis.edu.

What: MFA Thesis Choreographies. MFA candidates Kevin O’Connor and Folawole create original works that utilize dance, music, theatre arts, circus arts and improvisation.

Where: Vanderhoef Studio Theatre, Mondavi Center, UC Davis

When: Thursday – Saturday, Feb. 16-18 and 23-25 at 8 p.m.; Sunday, Feb. 19 and 26 at 2 p.m.

Tickets: General $17/19, students, children and seniors $12/14