College junior James La Russa (left), College senior Sarah Beach (center) and College senior Aneyn O’Grady (right) perform in Tara Lee’s “The Swimmer,” a piece choreographed for the Emory Dance Company. Photo Courtesy of Lori Teague
By Emily Sullivan
Staff Writer
After nearly two and a half months of collaboration, the work of students, faculty, guest choreographers and guest dancers came to life at the Emory Dance Company’s (EDC) fall performance.
Last Thursday, Nov. 20, was opening night for the EDC’s “Intersections of Mind and Body.” Some of the pieces were original works by Emory faculty members, while others were comprised of guest choreography; four of the five pieces were newly choreographed.
Bebe Miller’s “Prey” was the exception to that rule, and the first performed; Miller’s choreography had been previously hand-notated and was restaged with the help of Agnes Scott College student Bridget Roosa, for a combined cast of Emory University and Agnes Scott College students.
In order to make any necessary revisions to the restaging, Miller held an intensive with the EDC over one weekend. Long hours on Friday, Saturday and Sunday were filled with rehearsals, explained College freshman Maggie Vail, who performed in both “Prey” and University of Alabama Faculty and Guest Choreographer Sarah Barry’s “Traveling Light.”
After a brief introduction from Director and Associate Professor of Dance Lori Teague, eight dancers from Emory and seven from Agnes Scott walked onstage in a blackout. When the music to Miller’s piece, “Pine Tree and on the Street” began, the dancers proceeded to make noises similar to those of birds cawing. The cast, a grand total of 15 people, proved effectively loud in an engaging and surprisingly non-distracting manner. The use of such a large group was also powerful in terms of the group’s visual dynamic: many movements occurred simultaneously, ranging from crawling to arm flapping to jumping.
The next piece performed, “The Swimmer,” was choreographed by Tara Lee of the Atlanta Ballet. This piece presented several duets, including a partnership between Emory College junior James La Russa and College senior Sarah Beach; with the duet came high back attitudes and deep pliés. The duet repeated itself at the end of the dance; tasteful repetition and beautiful technique were the piece’s two strongest suits.
Amongst these duets were movements that simulated weightless swimming, allowing for the audience to feel intrigue but also calmness that was radiating from the dancers.
The third piece, falling right in the middle of Thursday’s show, was “Schönheit Gegenübergestellt.” Choreographed by Dance Instructor Tara Shepard Myers and translated from German as “Beauty Juxtaposed,” “Schönheit Gegenübergestellt” featured wild hair, colorful costumes and an excellent technique level.
The dancers of this piece, some wearing neon and one in white, utilized scaffolding as a prop; displaying the dichotomy between attitude and environment, the isolated white-costumed dancer, Beach, drifted around the others on, around and through the bare scaffolding.
Next up was Barry’s “Traveling Light.” Vail described the process of creating and polishing the piece: “The cast of nine dancers and two understudies worked with [Barry] over two weekends,” she said. “Her piece, ‘Traveling Light,’ focuses on community, the connection between all of the dancers and how we support each other.”
This message was carried out effectively, as the audience could envision camaraderie among the dancers while uplifting music and bright lights showered the stage. The choreography appeared difficult but rather small at times; attention was therefore drawn more toward the dancers’ multitude of emotions and expressions.
“Norm” was the last piece performed, choreographed by Senior Dance Lecturer Greg Catellier. During the EDC auditions, Catellier stated that he wanted his piece to involve significant collaboration between his dancers and himself, and the piece proved nothing short of interesting. “Norm” was accompanied by a jazzy house song, “Rose Rouge” by St. Germain, that repeated the lyrics, “I want you to get together.”
Dancers portrayed the simple desire for individuality but also for conformity and often used a wall as a common place on which to lean, to pose and to exclude. The piece was ultimately a combination of fun personalities and a great way to end an awe-inspiring show.
Emory’s dance students, guests and faculty alike are highly devoted to the EDC and its success. No one conveyed this better than Catellier himself, whom I was fortunate enough to be sitting about two seats away from. He was laughing, grinning and grooving for the entire duration of his piece.
– By Emily Sullivan, Staff Writer
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