The 2021 spring dance concert is hitting the big screen!
Join us this Thursday for Dancing the Next Dimension‘s big premiere for the Department of Theatre and Dance. For the first time ever, this dance concert will be a variety of dance-for-film pieces directed and choreographed not only by our incredible faculty Ruth Barnes, Azaria Hogans, and Sarah Wilcoxon, but by several students selected through an adjudication process as well! Adjudicators included these faculty members as well as Asiyah Martin. The student directors and choreographers chosen included Josie Walker and Abby Ball, Britni Fletcher, Allegra Schaeffer, Matt Walter, and Max Ruether.
The uniqueness and collaboration of this event is truly remarkable. The dance concert Coordinator and Adjudicator, Azaria Hogans, stated that, “Covid presented a way to really think outside of the box and break with some traditions. It was exciting to dream big and think differently, but also nerve racking as forging new paths always are. The process has been extremely collaborative as faculty and student choreographers, managing directors, other departments and community organizer, all had to pull together to try something new.”
Azaria also directed and choreographed two pieces in the concert- TRANSPORT in collaboration with Britni Fletcher and Drift Apart with the dancers. When asked what she hoped those watching the concert will get from it, she said, “I hope that the audience will be able to see themselves and their stories through the works presented. I also hope that we develop a new sense of community by beginning able to watch dance films from both faculty and students in an outdoor setting together (socially distanced) for the first time in about a year. I also want this to inspire our dancers to find ways to make their work seen even when traditional modes don’t seem feasible.”
Sarah Wilcoxon served as a dance concert Adjudicator and Dancer in Azaria’s Drift Apart with faculty member Richard Forrist. She shared that, “Even though my involvement was peripheral, this concert makes me feel proud to work here and excited about the future of the dance program! I hope they will see the creativity and ingenuity of our department and our program.”
Ruth Barnes, dance concert Adjudicator and Director/Choreographer, created a three-part series- (un)natural [habitats]– and Butterfly. She shared with us explanations of her pieces. “I have made a number of mixed media works at M.S.U. and elsewhere, but have never created anything for an all-projected event. Erin Plisco, director of the M.S.U. Women’s Chorus, initiated the Butterfly collaboration; Blake Richter created the video; I choreographed the quartet to “go with” the music and had some input on the video.
For (un)natural [habitats], the primary difference for me was having the ability to change the appearance of the movement, thanks to the video editing process. I was able to assemble a fine team for all aspects of this work. Because I wanted to maintain a sense of community and inclusivity, I cast all the Dance majors and minors who wanted to be in the Spring Dance Concert, for a total of 27 dancers. After dividing everyone into groups that would meet once a week for an hour or two each time, I assigned to each section a different choreographic strategy, as a means to keep them distinct in my head, even if that isn’t apparent to the viewer. The department provided the videographer, which gave me a new experience, in terms of setting up shots and not having to be behind the camera myself. I collaborated with the editor, whose input proved invaluable. I had input on the music created and played by two wonderful musicians, and was at the recording session, another new experience for me.” She shared that from this, she hopes “the dancers recognize the connections we have with each other, even if we aren’t in the same 3-D place at the same time. I hope the audience appreciates the richness of dance seen in spaces other than a proscenium stage, as well as the inclusive ethos of Missouri State University’s Dance program. Above all, I hope everyone senses a community playing/working together.”
This is a new and incredible experience created by the Dance programs that you won’t want to miss!
This concert will be premiered Thursday, April 29th at 8:00pm via projection on Craig Hall’s west wall. The event is free to all, and 100 chairs will be provided.
Further showings of the concert will be held without sound at M.S.U.’s Brick City Building 4 Friday, April 30th through Saturday, May 8th and at the Creamery Arts Center library on Friday, May 7th for the First Friday Art Walk.
You can view the full playbill for more information about all of the incredible pieces by clicking here: Playbill!
And, check out our Facebook page for more information: Dancing the Next Dimension Facebook Page.