By Steve Sucato

Continuing to build ties with the Akron community through educational and entertainment programming, The Movement Project (TMP) will present two performances of its SummerWorks series dance concerts on Saturday, August 2, at The University of Akron’s Sandefur Theatre.  

Entering its 16th season, the Cleveland-based modern/contemporary dance company will present a mix of new and older works from the company’s repertory, along with two new works featuring student dancers from TMP’s 11th annual Summer Intensive, along with a special appearance by Cleveland’s Ajayi Dance.

This year’s Summer Intensive, taking place from July 28 to August 2, 2025, is being held in Akron for the first time. Twenty-five dance students from across Northeast Ohio, aged 12 to 18, are participating in the week-long intensive. The students take five classes daily, including those in modern dance, ballet, improvisation, composition, repertory, house, musical theater, Limon technique, and dancer recovery. 

Says Liz Conway, The Movement Project’s Operations Coordinator, “We want our students to have a well-rounded dance approach, with the focus being on modern dance technique. They are experiencing many of the forms and practices that our professional company members work on on a daily basis.”

For SummerWorks 2025, the students will perform two works they create and develop during their composition classes. Guided by TMP company members, these works will showcase the students’ unique movement vocabularies and qualities, utilizing the principles of choreographic composition learned in their classes. 

In addition to the two Summer Intensive student works, SummerWorks 2025, will open with the premiere of TMP company dancer Marison Burris’ debut work for the company, “Contained Chaos.” 

Performed by dancers Emmaline Devore, Makayla Ulery, and Robyn Noelani (who also contributed to the choreography), the 8-minute trio, set to the music of Salt Lake City-based composer Michael Wall, explores the internal tension between control and abandon through a combination of wild and resisted movement.  

“The idea of ‘contained chaos’ comes to life onstage through defining contrasts in movement quality, spatial relationships, and timing,” says Burris. “Physicality in the movement increases gradually throughout the piece as the dancers begin to find the balance between two opposing forces: visceral and contained.”

Rounding out the program’s first half will be an “Improvisational Performance” by TMP’s dancers, and the Akron premiere of Ajayi Dance’s “AGAIN and AGAIN and,” a work that debuted this past May as part of Cleveland Public Theatre’s annual DanceWorks series.  

“A call to action as much as it is a dance work,” is how Ajayi Dance Founder/Director Melissa Ajayi describes “AGAIN and AGAIN and.”  

“In it, I explore my anger at not only the injustices that have been done and are being done to specific individuals and groups of people, but also the complicitness of bystanders and the injuries incurred and prolonged because of a decision to look away,” says Ajayi.

Choreographed by Ajayi with creative contributions from its nearly dozen performers, the 22-minute piece, set to music by Ludwig van Beethoven, Garth Stevenson, and folk duo MaMuse, conveys its evocative message through imagery that evokes feelings of conflict and injustice. 

Says Ajayi, The piece eventually goes beyond movement to include the cast singing, in which the audience is invited to participate. Plus, the use of choreographed gestures inspired by American Sign Language signs for “peace” and “overcome.”

SummerWorks 2025’s second half will feature reprises of two works from TMP’s repertoire, beginning with the company’s most recent, “Ephemeral Systems.” Choreographed by TMP Artistic Director & Founder Megan L. Gargano, Associate Director Elyse Morckel, and Conway, the piece examines the delicate architectures that arise and dissolve in response to shifting environments—both natural and human.

Rounding out the program will be Gargano’s “Live Wire” (2016), set to music by Panamanian–American jazz drummer Billy Cobham. The work will be performed by TMP company dancers and Summer Intensive guest artists, and pairs reactive dance movement with Cobham’s energetic drum solos.

The Movement Project presents SummerWorks 2025 with guests Ajayi Dance and student dancers from TMP’s Summer Intensive 2025. 2:30 p.m. and 6 p.m., Saturday, August 2, 2025. The University of Akron’s Sandefur Theatre at Guzzetta Hall, 228 E Buchtel Ave, Akron, OH. Tickets are $21 (General Admission), $17 (Students with ID or Seniors 62+), and $11 (Children 12 & under). Advance tickets are available at themovementproject.ticketspice.com/summerworks-2025 or, depending on availability, at the Sandefur Theatre Box Office on August 2. Box Office & Theater Doors open 45 minutes before each performance.