Diverse Aesthetics in Fall Dance Concert

As the last house lights dimmed in the dance theater of the Mahaney Center for the Arts (MCA), the audience quickly hushed their conversation in anticipation of the Fall Dance Concert’s first number. The spectators – a healthy mix of students and community members – waited quietly as the performers shuffled onstage under the cover of darkness.

The Friday and Saturday performances (Dec. 4-5) were the culmination of the semester for Visiting Assistant Professor of Dance Scotty Hardwig’s Intermediate/Advanced Dance 1 class, which is made up of all dance majors or joint dance majors. Each student had choreographed a piece for the concert.

Hardwig used a two-pronged learning approach in his intensive course.

“[The students] have been through a semester of technique practice, but also learned compositional skills and tools,” he said.

The first piece of the show, “Growth Variations,” featured all nine student choreographers.

“‘Growth Variations’ is a collection of composition studies that [the choreographers] have made over the course of the semester that I’ve directed and woven together into a longer study,” Hardwig explained. “These studies that we’ve collected over the course of the semester are really a testament to how much they’ve grown as performers. It’s really striking to see how they evolve, especially in their technical practice.”

In addition to this series of studies and the nine student-choreographed pieces, a group of dancers performed a “newcomer’s work” entitled “Between Two Meanings.” An annual facet of the Fall Dance Concert, the “newcomer’s work” is a work choreographed by a faculty member or student who has never performed in the dance theater or in a dance show before.

The dances of the night ranged widely in terms of themes, costumes and even the performers’ movements. Some pieces relied on abrupt, jerky movements; others saw dancers sweeping smoothly across the stage. In “Coral Reef,” performers draped themselves in fishing nets, while the opener, “Growth Variations,” showcased dancers in more flexible, all-purpose attire. The styles of music in the show were also varied, with at least several of the dances incorporating multiple songs with a variety of genres and tempos. Even the manner in which the performers bowed was tailored to their piece, with many foregoing a traditional bowing technique in favor of a quick, recognizable movement from their dance.

A crucial part of the preparation for the show was the feedback and assessment process. Spread out over the course of the semester, each of the three feedback performances allowed dance professors and a guest dancer and choreographer, Liz Lerman, to help the students shape their pieces.

The feedback that the choreographers received prompted and encouraged large changes to their dances.

“It’s not really an easy thing to take feedback and large changes, particularly with an art form that deals with the body… [where] there’s a lot of vulnerability and a lot of investment,” Hardwig commented.

Matea Mills-Andruk ’18.5 performed in two of the dances, although she was not a member of the Intermediate/Advanced Dance 1 class. Observing the critique process taught her a huge amount about the process of creating a piece. According to her, it seemed that “the purpose of the showing was to get familiar with the feedback and for the choreographers to watch the dancers.”

The Friday night performance of the Fall Dance Concert was quite impressive. It was obvious that the performers and choreographers had put significant time into perfecting their work and ensuring that the interactions between the performers were seamless. Some of the pieces, such as “Desde la Sacha” and “It is…” shined in particular for their level of energy and catchy rhythms. Others, like the eye-opening “Things Invisible Mostly to Ourselves,” were upfront in the way they tackled difficult issues like racism.

A fellow audience member, Maddie Hampton ’18, concurred, “I think the individual pieces reflect an extreme amount of thought and an amazing understanding of movement as a medium to provoke discussion.”

The show as a whole did feel a bit lengthy, lasting almost two-and-a-quarter hours. This was necessary for such a sizable compilation of works, which represented a wide range of aesthetics.

Hardwig summed up the concert well, saying that the performances were all about “coming into the theater and enjoying the pleasure of watching the body in motion, watching choreography … tapping into deeper questions about what it means to be human.”