Highlights of the performance include “Canonic 3/4 Studies,” a 1982 piece by Mark Morris, one of America’s most respected choreographers, and Alwin Nikolais’ 1953 “Tensile Involvement.” For more information call 207-786-6157. No seat reservations will be accepted.

The Modern Dance Company was founded by Marcy Plavin, of Lewiston, who started at Bates in 1965 and retires as director of dance this year. A program that helped pave the way for the college’s current robust offerings in the arts, including the nationally renowned Bates Dance Festival, Plavin and the company are the object of deep loyalty among its veterans — many of whom will dance on May 1.

“In the midst of this very intensive academic experience, it was incredibly different and open and freeing to have part of our experience be about being creative,” Suzanne Carbonneau told the college’s alumni magazine in 1998. A member of the class of 1976, Carbonneau is a dance critic and historian. “It was always about exposing us to a lot of different stuff and encouraging us to go where our interests were.”

Alumni from classes as far back as the mid-1960s will take part in the May 1 performance. The first half of the program features two pieces danced by current members of the dance company: the Nikolais work, for which the dancers perform with elastic bands stretched across the stage like a giant cat’s cradle, and Morris’s teasing takeoff on traditional ballet, for which obtaining performance rights was something of a coup. “We’re all honored by this great gift,” Plavin says.

Short works danced by alumni constitute the remainder of the first half. The program’s entire second half will be choreographed and danced by alumni, with an opening section choreographed by Michael Foley — class of 1989 and assistant professor of modern dance at the University of South Florida — and a closing by John Carrafa, class of 1976, a Tony Award-nominated choreographer acclaimed for his work on the Broadway hits “Urinetown” and “Into the Woods,” among other credits.

This isn’t the first MDC anniversary for which alumni have trekked back to Lewiston, but it’s an especially significant one because of the impending retirement of Plavin, who was first hired at Bates by the director of women’s physical education. “Marcy might have been the first adult who wanted me to call her by her first name,” Geri FitzGerald, a member of the class of 1975 and a Bates trustee, told the college magazine. “In many ways, she was the first adult friend that I had.”

“They’re my extended family,” Plavin says. “We’ve had great times together. Dance seems to build those kinds of friendships.”

During Plavin’s tenure, the dance program has grown dramatically — from two courses in the PE department to a rich slate of academic offerings that students can take as a secondary concentration. In the not-too-distant future, Bates hopes to offer a dance major. Since 1983 the college has been home to the Bates Dance Festival, which Plavin founded and which today ranks in the top tier of such events in the United States.

Plavin will remain a presence at Bates, but succeeding her as head of the dance program is Carol Dilley, who arrived last fall. Dilley’s resume includes stints on faculty at the University of Washington and in a variety of dance programs in Sydney, Australia. She has also run a dance company in Barcelona, and attended the Bates Dance Festival as a student in the early 1990s.

“Carol will do wonderful things,” Plavin says.

Coordinated by Marcy Plavin, director of the Bates College Modern Dance Company, the ACDF at Bates is the first of eight regional festivals to be performed in 2000. The 25-year-old American College Dance Festival has a two fold purpose: to provide classes, workshops and performance experiences for college dancers and an opportunity for the dancers to have their works adjudicated and critiqued by established professionals.

This year, 30 institutions will present 45 pieces for adjudication. The three adjudicators for the 2000 festival are dance critic and historian Suzanne Carbonneau `76, who is resident scholar and director of audience enrichment at Jacob’s Pillow; Alan Kriegsman, Pulitzer Prize winning dance writer for The Washington Post; and Gus Solomons Jr., dance critic, dancer and company director.

The ACDF at Bates also includes a performance by New York-based dancer Michael Foley`89 and his company Michael Foley Dance at 8 p.m., Saturday, Jan. 22. This performance is sold out.

For more information about the performances, call 207-786-6157.

According to The Minneapolis Star & Tribune, Elkins “is one of the most innovative creators of movement around, and his bag of dance moves is vast.”

Michael Foley, a 1989 graduate of Bates, will dance in the performance.

Tickets are $6 general admission and $3 for seniors and non-Bates students. The box office will open one hour prior to the performance. Tickets may be purchased in advance from the Schaeffer Theatre Box Office Monday through Friday between 3 and 5 p.m. by calling 207-786-6161.