choreography

MFA Thesis Concert I-Victorious

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By Princess Tanagna Payne

My piece for my Thesis Concert on September 27th and 28th 2019, was about sexual abuse and the traumas that can occur after an attack. Often times, victims are afraid to speak up not because the abuser may get punished, but because there nothing seems to be in it for them. I wanted to focus on healing and where that could possibly begin for someone, which led me to group therapy, one-on-one therapy with a licensed therapist or simply sharing with a loved one. In the piece, I chose to focus on group therapy and the idea of how abusers can also be victims too. In the beginning of the piece, there is a small visual to give an idea of the aftermath of the rape that leads into the first group therapy section where victims are invited to share their stories, but it can be difficult. Following therapy, the abuser knew that his actions were wrong and was tormenting himself. In the next group section, the victims are working to move from victim to victor where they are learning to build confidence and rely on their group members for support. The duet follows, and this is where the abusers and his victim are communicating about their tragedies, the last scene is where they invite the abuser to come to therapy, although his actions are not excused, they understand that he too needs help.

There were many changes to my piece last minute due to cast members leaving and the challenge was to present the same idea with a new framework. The challenge was a scary one, having to alter things four weeks before the show, but it was something that brought the cast members together and it made our relationship stronger. We trusted that each person would commit to their role and come in each day ready to work. We kept an open line of communication and shared things that worked and did not work. No one took anything personal and there was always positivity in the room.

For anyone presenting work soon, I say to stay committed to your idea and use your advisor to the best of your ability. Trust that your dancers will bring your vision to life and allow them to feel like they are also a part of the creative process. There will be things that you love one day, that you may not like the following week and that is okay. Scrap it and move on. Do not be afraid to be vulnerable with your cast members, it will only make the process easier. They can offer insight that you may not have thought about. Remember to take a break every now and then, sometimes your mind just needs a moment to shut down for a few hours. Do not be afraid to go for what you want, the only way you will know if it is achievable, is if you try.

Princess Tanagna Payne MFA in Dance

Reflection Response: kNots & Nests

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Photo by Matthew Altea

 

By Mijkalena Smith

My time performing and creating in the Reflection:Response Commission, kNots & Nests, by Marion Ramirez was undoubtedly one of the most meaningful experiences I have ever had. kNots & Nests is a multi-disciplinary creative project celebrating the duet as the smallest unit of community (https://www.knots-nests.org/gallery). This project’s artistic collaborations include Marion Ramirez (project’s director/ dance department, Boyer) Adam Vidiskis (music department, Boyer School of Music and Dance), Kris Rumman (visual art, Tyler School of Art and Architecture), and Jungwoong Kim (dance, Boyer School of Music and Dance). Student Participants included artists from Temple dance, music, journalism, film, and visual art departments.  Never before have I been surrounded by such a diverse, creative, and genuine group of people.

I think sometimes at Temple we become stuck inside our own departments, constantly working and improvising with the same people day after day. Having the opportunity to work with artists from different Music department and Tyler school of Art brought a fresh, new atmosphere of creativity that allowed for the success of this project across various art mediums. Apprehensive about working with improvisation for the first time, Marion Ramirez facilitated a connection among us artists that helped me learn that this work was more about our relationship to each other and the concepts surrounding the piece, rather than exact movements or choreography.

 

Photo by Matthew Altea

 

An emotionally raw and vulnerable experience; I learned that pushing past one’s comfort zone with other artists creates the purest art. I learned how to reach out and express myself to people in a way I never would have imagined. It was a rich experience I am eternally grateful for and will certainly never forget.

 

Mijka Smith BFA Dance Student

Tapping into Confidence

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Photo by Brian Mengini.

By Kaitlyn Miller

Dance has always been a passion, from the stage to the classroom to my home, it always generates so many emotions for me. I have participated in many styles including ballet, jazz, modern, tap, ballroom dance, but there was something about tap that draws me closer. At a very young age, I knew tap would take me somewhere, if I continued to work hard at it.

Tap is the style of dance to which I feel the strongest connection too and I was able to continue that connection during my time at Temple with a Studio Research piece in the Spring semester of 2019. I decided to create a piece, set for two dancers using portable wooden floors. I created the piece to embody a machine, with the natural wooden floors, rusty orange lights, and simple costumes- jeans and a black t-shirt. The style of tap I was working with concentrated on the intricate, rhythmic patterns and phrasing of the footwork. This is an unfamiliar form to me, but my time in the studio and creating this piece allowed me to become more accustomed with it.

With my confidence boosted, I decided to audition for the Lady Hoofers Tap Ensemble, a Philadelphia-based, all-women ensemble which “produces original works of choreography while preserving the tradition of improvisation in American rhythm tap” (http://www.ladyhoofers.org/). After the audition process, I was pleased to learn I was an apprentice company member for the 2019-2020 season. We are currently working on pieces for our Tapcracker performance in December, and I am learning more and more about the percussive side of tap. Even after tapping for twenty years, I am learning so much each rehearsal, because I come from a musical theatre/broadway style tap background.

I am looking forward to my time with the company as we continue to learn choreography, improvisational skills and take class. Within my future Studio Research choreography at Temple and in my Thesis, I plan to apply these newfound skills.

 

Kaitlyn Miller MFA Student

Carpentry and Dance Collide

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Dr. Onye Ozuzu, Dean of the College of the Arts at the University of Florida.

By Muriel Peterson, MFA Student

Dr. Onye Ozuzu; is the Dean of the College of the Arts at the University of Florida; in Gainesville, Florida. She came to Temple University for the “Dance Studies Colloquium” lecture on September 10th and is known as a performing artist, choreographer, administrator, educator, and researcher. Her most recent work, “Project Tool,” unites the world of construction with the world of dance. The result, several hexagon shaped floors that can be easily transported and performed on, as well as an examination of “the inter-relationships between body, task, and tool” (http:// ozuzudances.com/).

Project Tool image courtesy of http:// ozuzudances.com.

Ozuzu explained the process of building the floors and choreographing based on that experience. She describes it as arduous, meticulous work, yet satisfying and humbling. However, the most interesting aspect of this project, in my opinion, is the appreciation it elicits from the performers/builders for the floor itself. Dividing each rehearsal between construction and choreography, Ozuzu and her dancers are able to develop a relationship with each floor they build. Although at times the performers do not enjoy the tediousness of the building, a sense of gratitude and protectiveness emerges for the floors regardless.

As a practitioner of both break dancing and tap, I find it surprising that it took the actual construction of the floors to elicit appreciation for them. More often than not, dancers like myself have to fight for the floors of our choice and in many cases settle for less. With tap, I remember my teacher explaining the importance of the floor and how it connects to the music we make as we dance; in order to hear it at its best, it must be played on a wood surface because it generates a high quality sound and it is not too harsh on the dancer’s body. Similarly, break dancers appreciate its smooth surface and gentleness on the body as well.

All-in-all, “Project Tool,” is an intriguing piece of art. It combines real life carpentry with the art of dance. In addition, it challenges both the audience and the dancers to recognize the value in ordinary things; in this case the value lies in the floors themselves.

Muriel Peterson

Dance For A Cause

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WORLD WATER DAY

SOURCE: An Evening of Performance in Celebration of World Water Day, to be presented Thursday March 22, 2018, at 7PM.

Temple dance students, in partnership with the Office of Sustainability at Temple University, present SOURCE, a celebration of World Water Day, Thursday, March 22, at 7pm. This performance will be in the Conwell Dance Theater, 1801 North Broad St., 5th Floor. SOURCE is an evening of dance performance, with a special presentation from environmental scientist and Temple University Professor, Fletcher Chmara-Huff, and will be followed by a reception to engage with presenting artists! The event is scheduled in observance of the United Nations Day of Action devoted to raising public attention to the critical water issues of our era. The performance is free and open to the public.

SOURCE will be the fourth-year Temple Dance students have celebrated World Water

Day with an evening of performance. This is also the first year that the Temple Dance Department is pairing up with the Office of Sustainability to continue the mission to raising awareness. Every year dance students create works responding to the spiritual and life giving properties of water, as well as the social issues around water access. This evening of performance links art, science, and activism, drawing from the notion that all three are needed to engage complex problems.

The performances and presentations will address a range of issues: the global water crisis both nationally and internationally, climate change, protecting our oceans, rivers and lakes, as well as meditative works looking at the molecular structure of water, how other cultures celebrate water, and reflecting on how we treat water in our everyday lives. Every performance has the goal to question the corporate view of water as a “resource” rather than an intrinsic right, in addition to honoring water as a source of life. The dancer/choreographers are looking forward to the engagement period after the performance, creating an atmosphere of active conversation, beyond passive reception of a “performance.”

SOURCE’s mission is not only to observe and celebrate World Water Day, but to invite

the Philadelphia community to join us in staying informed and involved with the issues that

surround water today. Water has been privatized in many places around the globe with

devastating consequences for the communities whose water is sold to large

corporations. SOURCE explores and advocates for useful responses to a global crisis that threatens the stability and subsequent motility of all living bodies.

SOURCE will include works choreographed by Angela Watson, Avi Wolf Borouchoff, Dawn States, Enya-Kalia Jordan,Kailia Kingsford Smith, Prudence Anne Amsden, Teresa Barr, Tyra Jones-Blain,Ying Yu, and additional contributions from Temple’s Environmental Studies majors. SOURCE is directed by Prudence Anne Amsden with assistance from Avi Wolf Borouchoff and Dawn States, and facilitated by Professor Merián Soto and Professor Fletcher Chmara-Huff.

Please join us for SOURCE, an evening of performance to celebrate World Water Day. Check out a review of a past event by Julia Davis in GreenPhillyBlog.

 

A Student Perspective on Temple University Dance Department’s Study Abroad Program in Rome

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Dancing in Italy

By: Meghan McFerran

On May 11, I embarked on my first journey traveling overseas to Europe to study abroad at Temple University’s campus in Rome, Italy! I was fortunate enough to have a very unique experience compared to the average student studying in a classroom setting. While most of my peers studying at Temple Rome packed textbooks and pencils in their backpacks in preparation for class abroad, I packed my Theraband, water bottle and a new leotard. I was going to spend the next six weeks studying dance in one of the most artistic and historic cities in the world.

As a dance major, my classroom was the dance studio at IALS, located just a few short blocks from Temple Rome’s main campus. Every Tuesday and Thursday at 9:00 am, after a quick Italian breakfast of a cappuccino and Nutella croissant at the café next door, nine of us dance majors walked into the cozy sized dance studio feeling energized and ready to move.

IALS (pronounced “yalls”) has a studio concept similar to Broadway Dance Center in New York City; you sign in at the front desk and pay to take one of the various genres of classes offered each day such as Latin, ballet, contemporary jazz, etc. Us dance majors at Temple were privileged to have our dance professor from Temple, Jillian Harris, come along on the trip with us and teach us a two-hour modern class.

Due to the small studio space, our class focused on stretching and strengthening exercises as a warm-up, and moved into floor-work, footwork and a center combination. The class focused on proper alignment, gestures, shape making, dynamics and timing. This was a nice change from our usual modern classes at Temple because we had to work with the resources that we had and be more aware of our spatial patterns. We were lucky to have Jillian’s husband, Chris Farrell, accompany us with live music, which made class more fun.

At 11:00 am, us dancers grabbed lunch at the small deli around the corner, walked a few blocks down the road to Temple Rome campus, and got ready for Creative Process. This course required us to create an original piece of choreography drawing inspiration from a piece of artwork that we saw at the National Gallery of Modern and Contemporary Art. From this inspiration, we were to choose one theme to stick with throughout our creative process. The painting I chose was a piece called “Cielo e Mar” by Italian artist Baldo Diodato. I focused on the theme of pushing and pulling of gravity for my piece. Each class we developed our themes by creating phrases and variations of phrases, presenting our work and getting feedback from other students. For three hours, all nine of us worked in a different creative space, from the park in Villa Borghese to the small parking lot outside campus to the empty classrooms on the fourth floor. We each kept journals to document our process and to hold onto ideas that we may want to use in the future.

After a day of dancing and letting our creative juices flow, we grabbed our water bottles and journals and headed out to explore the beautiful city of Rome. Just a half mile down the street from campus was the popular Piazza del Popolo. Here you could find your way to famous hand pressed pizza, Gelateria Della Palma with over 150 flavors (my favorite was Bacio), explore the ancient ruins, stand in the forum of the Colosseum, and make a wish in the Trevi Fountain all in one day. Having class twice a week also enabled us to travel on weekends. I had the privilege of traveling to Croatia, Tuscany, Florence, Perugia, and Greece while abroad.

At the end of our six weeks in Rome, we presented our creative process pieces to the faculty and other students. The walls of Temple Rome were decorated with beautiful photos, sculptures and artwork that the other Temple students had created. Being able to share the artistic space with other students was a fulfilling experience, and each piece of art expressed our journey of growth, exploration and unforgettable moments in Italy.
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meghanmcferran.com

ACDA Experience

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Ever since I found out about ACDA when I was a freshman in college, it was a personal goal to be accepted to attend the festival. Year after year, I was in works that were submitted but ultimately, not chosen. Finally, my senior year I was able to attend and I was pumped!
For those who don’t know, ACDA (American College Dance Association) is an organization geared towards supporting dance in higher education through providing national programs that provide a variety of classes, performance opportunities, lecture series, and networking events. Temple is a part of the Northeast Regional Conference which was held in SUNY-Brockport this year. The trek was long, but the studios were beautiful!!
The range and amount of classes provided offered variety and flexibility which was a nice change from regular, semester long classes. Some of the classes I took included partner stretch, intermediate ballet, choreographic voice and social justice, an ADF Audition class, Jamaican Dance Hall, modern dance with one of the graduate students who presented work, and advanced contemporary modern dance taught by one of the adjudicators- Ruben Graciani.
As a transfer student, I understood the differences in course structure within different dance departments at colleges and universities. From the hotel room, to classes on campus and attending the adjudication concerts, ACDA was a wonderful experience to network with other dancers in the northeast region and learn about their program and previous training.
If I had to choose my favorite aspect of the program, I would choose the final Gala performance. The three adjudicators chose the top 10 pieces out of all 5 previous concerts based on composition, musicality, aesthetic design, etc. The diversity of movement style and theme celebrated just how powerful, eclectic, and connected the art form of dance is to society. The audience was incredibly supportive of each piece which created an amazing atmosphere. At the end of the day, everyone at ACDA chose to major in dance to share our passion for movement performance and its connection to community which was reiterated in the Gala performance.
-Katie Moore
Senior, B.F.A Dance, Business Minor

Merián Soto Awarded Pew Grant

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This year, Associate Dance Professor Merián Soto was awarded a Pew Fellowship from The Pew Center for Arts & Heritage in Philadelphia. The Center has provided local artists, scholars and cultural organizations with 9.6 millions dollars worth of grants in 2015. Professor Soto was recognized by the Center for her 40-year career studying dance and performance through somatic investigations and process-oriented practices. Soto claims that she is continually working towards, “a dance of the future, a dance of healing, transformation, and transcendence.”

The Center has funded many of Soto’s creative and conceptual works, such as Branch Dance Series, SoMoS, and Wissahicken Park research project.

From studying Latino dance in New York to modern day creative explorations in Philadelphia,Merián Soto has built a name for herself and continues to inspire her students, young artists, and audiences of multiple dance and art backgrounds.

 

 

 

-Meghan McFerran

B.F.A. Dance

B.A. Journalism

Student Dance Concert Piece

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By: Alana Yost

 

This is my first semester as a Temple MFA Dance student and as soon as I heard about the opportunity to present my work at The Student Dance Concert, I have been working towards realizing that goal. I found out my piece got in to the concert and I have been diligently working with my dancers to get it performance ready each Friday during our hour and a half rehearsal time slot.

This is my first time presenting a variation of this piece; first during the summer it debuted on a group of dancers whom I taught at a school where I grew up training, second at The Philly Fringe, and third now on Temple dancers for this showcase. The evolution of the piece has been truly remarkable. At times I have felt more of the witness than the choreographer and have blogged about my journey through this process and pushing myself artistically outside of my comfort zone.

Watching all of your hard work come to fruition is truly a remarkable feeling. I am so proud of this piece and all my dancers have accomplished. As I enter into this next chapter in my career and artistry, I walk into it confidently having achieved my first goal I set for myself in graduate school. Now I can just sit back this weekend and watch my piece like an audience member – ultimately being taken to another place – that is why I love so much being a part of dance.

 

***(Picture caption: Photo credit: Bill H. 2014 Choreography by: Alana Melene Yost Dancers: Temple BFA Students)