Several students hoist bags on their shoulders, walking into a studio with a wooden floor and lined with mirrors. Their muscular bodies, midriff tops, cut-off pants and bare feet spell d-a-n-c-e-r-s.
Jessica Wright, a junior dance major, is ready to rehearse. Five other dancers stretch and talk until Wright gets their attention.
“We’re really close to being done,” she says. “Go back to pose one.”
The dancers find their poses and Wright fixes any glitches of the image before saying, “Begin when you’re ready.”
So goes another day of rehearsals for a piece in the Salon, an educational performance enabling students to create their own choreography, show their work and receive feedback from students and dance department faculty.
On Oct. 13, the Department of Dance and Choreography, which normally presents performances amid carefully planned lighting and costumes to audiences that tend to dress up, will strip its formalities and play host to students wearing jeans and T-shirts.
“It’s an informal showing,” said Lea Marshall, producer of the Salon. “It’s done in the dance studio, in our main studio upstairs. There’s not a lot of tech. The lights come on and that’s it.”
Wright is one of the students who liked what she describes as the Salon’s “raw” appeal. She had an idea, asked five dancers if they wanted to be involved, “and we said ‘yes,’ ” recalls Megan Harrold, a junior.
Wright gave her time to rehearsals, planning and the idea for nothing but experience, enjoyment and the opportunity for feedback.
October 13, 2006
1 – 2 p.m.
Dance Center, 10 N. Brunswick – Studio 203 Monroe Park Campus
Open to public at no charge.
“The feedback and short viewing distance between audience and dancers is my favorite thing about the Salon,” she said.
Wright’s piece, “Words Not Mandatory,” is about manipulating the body. It involves relaxing the face and uninhibited movement of the body and knowledge of its parts.
“The idea came from relaxing your jaw and your body,” she said. “The concept was to work with body parts.”
Harrold, one of the performers in Wright’s piece, said she enjoys this different point of view on life.
“I think about having a very internal focus and not think about what people are seeing,” she said. “I think about how I feel on the inside.”
Samantha Crawford, a junior dance major and performer in Wright’s piece, said, “The movement is very different for me. It feels like manipulation of myself.”
The Salon is a different approach to performing and a different experience for audience members.
“The close quarters of the studio gives a whole different atmosphere to dance,” Wright said.
Crawford likes the unfinished aspect of the Salon. “The focus of the Salon is more of a works-in-progress,” Crawford said.
This year the dance department opened the Salon to non-dance majors.
Vanessa Fassie, a second-year graduate student in Photo/Film, also will present a piece.
She said she doesn’t know what to expect but wanted to be involved. She said the Salon is a great experience for feedback on art.
“It’s the only way to really shape and mold your work,” she said.
Her piece, “Reunion,” was rehearsed in the Pollack Building. “It’s a little different from dance majors as I cannot rehearse in the dance building,” she said.
That hasn’t hindered her excitement or preparation for the Salon.
Wright and Fassie feverishly are working to finish their pieces. They are just as eager to show their work.
“You never know what’s going to happen,” Wright said. “That’s why it’s so exciting.”