Winter Dance Concert leaps to new heights
By Jen Pontzer, Staff Writer
March 4, 2008 | 11:46 p.m.
The dancers involved in the show as well as those who attend the show will have an opportunity to see what is going on in the world of dance outside of Athens, Ohio. The dance concert in the fall was a senior capstone project entirely done by students. This quarter the concert has a more professional feel. The performers are all students, but they had to audition and be chosen by the faculty to be a part of the show.
Junior Julie Van Zant began dancing when she was three. Her mother was a dancer and taught her. Now it is something she loves and enjoys doing. This concert is special for her because she is involved in two different pieces. She is in Associate Professor of Dance Travis Gatling 's piece called "Frame by Frame" and "Office Space" by Ruben Graciani.
"It’s really exciting that I get to do a lot of dancing and I get to work with new faculty members this year," Van Zant said. "Travis’ piece is a lot about beauty and power, so that’s always fun to wear a pretty dress and still be strong and powerful at the same time."
Gatling explained that he acquired the idea for "Frame by Frame" by letting his cast of six women have the freedom to explore movement, and while he watched them he saw two things: beauty and power. The title came from wanting to capture those moments and ideas.
Graciani has two pieces in the show titled "Office Space" and "The Missing Piece." "Office Space" doesn't have the literal or linear storyline some people may think it does. The characters may be recognizable, but it's more about the music.
"It’s women in little secretary outfits and men in suits, or shirts and ties, so they think I’m making a statement about men and women but I’m really not. The music just, I heard it, and I kept seeing like crazy secretaries, frenzied secretaries, and in the second section of the music everything is really slow and relaxed and I was thinking about lazy bosses," Graciani said.
While "Office Space" is a Pointe piece, "The Missing Piece" is more modern. The idea for the piece came from the Shel Silverstein book of the same name. It is about alienation and trying to find your niche in the world. In the piece, one dancer is dressed in a different color from the others and is often on her own. Even the music sounds disconnected.
Mickie Geller, a dance professor, choreographed a piece called "Out of Line" that has shifted in focus over time while being created. It began visually with inspiration from a French film called "Last Year at Marienbad" and a photo of a fashion show. She was reluctant to explain how the piece shifted because she did not want to give away what she thinks it is about.
She said, "I think that art is the original interactive activity and if you tell the audience too much then they’re not having their own experience of the work, and that’s very important to me."
The dancers in the piece agreed that it might be about models, celebrity or teenage rebellion. They explained that it was crazy and a little voodoo. In their eyes, it's about fighting the norm and fighting control. Sometimes in the second part of the dance this is portrayed through violence or aggression.
Junior Megan Payne said, "[Geller] showed us a picture of models walking in a straight line in a show with the same hair, same look, same color on. That's kind of what she started out with, everyone looking the same, but you're really not. You're your own person."
The way this rebellion is shown is in the change of the music ("Girl Anachronism" by The Dresden Dolls) and the removal of pieces of clothing. The dancers start out in pastel greens and blues, and underneath they have crazy black and white designs. It seems to represent the removal of conformity, thus allowing individuality.
The dancers are comfortable taking off parts of their clothing. Freshman Kelsey Gorman said that the dancers get to choose whether the top or the bottom is removed. Freshman Eric Hill said that it's fun, and senior Valerie Serrani likes it because the clothes get in the way of the movement, and the removal adds to the piece.
The Winter Dance Concert will be held in the Elizabeth Evans Baker Theater in Kantner Hall. Performances will take place March 6 - 8 at 8 p.m., with a matinee performance at 2 p.m. on Saturday March 8. Tickets are free for Ohio University students, $12 for general admission and $9 for children. They may be purchased at the box office in Kantner Hall. For more information, call (740) 593-4800 or stop by the box office between noon and 5 p.m.
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