Renowned Dancer Performs in Black Box

Internationally known performer, choreographer and dance educator Ruth Barnes performs five solo dances that were created in five weeks by five different international choreographers on Saturday, Sept. 23, at 4 p.m. in Black Box at Porter Hall. “Here, There, and Everywhere,” choreographed by Barnes, Christine Devaney, Matthew Hawkins, Frank McConnell, Steinvor Palsson and Ian Spink, is free and open to the public.

Barnes has toured internationally as a soloist, created works with independent performers in the U.S. and in Europe, and coordinates the dance program at Missouri State University, where she teaches modern dance technique, improvisation and composition, dance history, and dance and technology.

“Here, There, and Everywhere” addresses displacement and dislocation, isolation and community, and what it means to settle.

Barnes taught at the Merce Cunningham Studio in New York, moved to France in the mid-80s and returned to the U.S. in 2000. She was the first American choreographer to benefit from a Fulbright Fellowship to work in the United Kingdom (1974-1975).

In 2012, Barnes collaborated with Vonda Yarberry, Missouri State professor of art and design, and Sheryl Brahnam, Missouri State professor of computer information, on a three year research project that combined dance, digital media and computer technologies.