Ashes of Beauty—a dance concert featuring original choreography by Ircamar Garcia, Erika Hand and Rebecca Krumel. In her work And Now, Can You See Me?, choreographer Ircamar Garcia explores the dark side of femininity, particularly the over-sexualized body and the social pressure on women to be forever young and flawless. Garcia’s work embodies the struggle of the projected self in contrast to the real self with its vulnerabilities, through a journey of reflection and liberation. Love’s Sea by Erika Hand mythologizes women's real life love stories from a fictional perspective, that of the mermaid. In this "feminist Lord of the Flies," a pack of seven women share their stories and witness each other’s confrontation with the self and its demons. Normal Danger, also by Hand, is an intimate and outrageous declaration of love and friendship that explores the recklessness and playfulness of a sisterly bond between two best friends. The duet uses humor and absurdity to celebrate the nature of togetherness and the inevitability of its loss. In Rebecca Krumel’s work Beauty Unveiled, nine women wrestle with the complexities of beauty, both internal and external. Krumel’s work is steeped in questioning ideals of aesthetics and feminine beauty while proposing that the qualities that make someone truly beautiful are eternal in nature. The choreography juxtaposes environments wherein beauty manifests or fades. A pre-concert discussion about collaboration among dancers and musicians will take place before the Friday performance in Studio 216 from 7:15-7:45pm.