SIUE’s “Timeless Reflections” Brings Memory, Movement and the Next Generation of Dance to Life

SIUE's "Timeless Reflections" Brings Memory, Movement and the Next Generation of Dance to Life

A signature event of SIUE's 50th Anniversary Golden Season, the concert showcases the department's legacy of innovation in dance.

Southern Illinois University Edwardsville's Department of Theater and Dance continues its 50th Anniversary Golden Season with "Timeless Reflections: Performances in Dance," a concert that transforms memory into motion and celebrates five decades of artistry through original choreography and vibrant student performance. Under the artistic direction of Kristin Best-Kinscherff, associate professor and chair of the department, the production runs through Saturday, Nov. 15, in Dunham Hall Theater.

Featuring new works by Brenda Tally, Geoff Alexander, Kristin Best-Kinscherff, Maria Majors, Lindsay Hawkins, Omar Olivas, Carly Vanderheyden, and guest artists Emily and Joshua Culbreath of SnackBreak Movement Arts, the concert continues the department's longstanding Dance in Concert tradition while offering audiences a deeply personal journey through reflection, resilience and joy.
Best-Kinscherff notes that the concert was designed to embody the emotional texture of memory, with each piece representing a different facet of the department's 50-year history and the evolving landscape of dance at SIUE.

"Every piece in this concert feels like a memory in motion - joy, loss, resilience and rediscovery," said Best-Kinscherff. "Dance allows us to see time not as something passing, but as something we can touch, breathe and relive together."

That sense of collective memory rises most clearly in a late-program segment centered on motherhood. As recorded monologues drift through the theater, women reflect on their mothers' composure and the love that shaped them. Dancers move in trios and couplets, exploring the definition and complexity of motherhood through expressive, fluid motion. Their bodies arc and pull like silk through the air, legs drawing and dragging with sweeping intention. Their patterns ripple across the stage like waves gathering in a sheltered cove; rising, receding and exhaling together, as if modeling the quiet breath of a mother cradling a child.

The evening builds to an electrifying finale anchored in cultural fusion and explosive physicality. Layered hymnals merge unexpectedly with Bulgarian beatbox rhythm as the ensemble surges across the stage in bright color. The dancers move in domino-like sequences; an invisible paper chain shifting, folding, and adapting with each pulse of sound. The finale erupts into a celebration of life, with Best-Kinscherff's vision honoring both fleeting memories and the evolving future of the department as it steps into its next 50 years.

This year's student ensemble includes: Addie Anthony; Joselyn Bender; Zander Bradford; Rylee Brinkman; Justin Campbell; Danielle Carey; Lakeyla Chesney; Savana Coleman; Sierra Dove; Mya Edgar; Jane Hart; Taiya Lewis; Taysha McClendon; Grace McLagan; Cayley McReynolds; Marion Montgomery; Kylie Morales; Makayla Morris; Kyla Morrow; Ella Perkins; Devyn Petrunich; Abby Simpson; CJ Trello; Diana Tschomakoff; Abby Turner; Savannah Webster; and Elliet Wills.

As the Golden Season continues, "Timeless Reflections" stands as both a tribute and a promise: A recognition of where SIUE dance has been, and the artistry still yet to come. In this performance, memory does not fade; it moves through bodies, through stories and through time. For a moment, it comes home to dance.

For tickets and more information, contact the Box Office for the Department of Theater and Dance.

PHOTO: Department of Dance, "Timeless Reflections" 2025, Photos by Howard Ash