By Steve Sucato

Following last weekend’s Conservatory Dance Company‘s marquee showcase at the Byham Theater, the student company of Point Park University closes out its season with Point Park Connections, the annual program of dance works by dance-department adjunct faculty, April 25-27 at the university’s George Rowland White Performance Studio. Of these six works encompassing a range of styles, five come from former Point Park students, including 2008 graduate Laura Warnock’s “Starts at Goodbye.”  The seven-and-a-half-minute work for 10 dancers is set to music by Olafur Arnalds, and looks back on several interpersonal relationships by beginning where they ended.

Also on the program is an expanded version of a contemporary-dance work that choreographer Kellie Hodges originally created for Thodos Dance Chicago. Danced to music by Helios and Nicolas Jaar, the 12-minute “Afterall, Even Now, Even If” explores “the daily struggle each of us go through to maintain individuality in our relationships,” says Hodges.

Joining those works are Heather Goelz-Carpenter’s jazzy “Swing & Sing,” Daniel Karasik’s “Vantage Point”, Mariah McLeod’s “(mis)Connect” and Ernest Tolentino’s “Meron.” 

Conservatory Dance Company performs in Point Park Connections, 8 p.m. Fri., April 25; 2 and 8 p.m. Sat., April 26, and 2 p.m. Sun., April 27. George Rowland White Performance Studio at Point Park University, 201 Wood St., Downtown. $18-20. 412-392-8000 or www.pittsburghplayhouse.com

This article first appeared in Pittsburgh City Paper  April 23, 2014. Copyright Steve Sucato.