To the editor:
Nine dancer-choreographers from the Ohio University School of Dance enchanted about 75 community members Monday, February 27 at the Kennedy Museum of Art in Athens.
These are junior year BFA dance students in Advanced Composition, a course taught by professor Christi Camper Moore. This exciting cross-over of visual and performing arts was Camper Moore’s conception. Each student used visual, descriptive and contextual elements of an artwork to create a 4-dimensional experience of being in conversation – and in motion – with each medium.
Each dance was a solo piece choreographed and performed by the student. As the music began, in most cases, the dancers were facing the artwork with their back to the audience. Without a face to focus on, this orientation heightened the viewer’s attention to their movements, the music and the visual artwork. As a dance was completed, the viewers moved from gallery to gallery to watch the next performance.
In the Talk-Back that followed the performance the audience commented on the beautiful fluidity of the dancers. The dances showcased abilities developed through years of dance training. They displayed uncommon strength, balance and flexibility achievable only through continuing dedication to their craft. These young women are fine craftsman but beyond craft, what makes their dances an artform is their creativity, choreography, and message.
Costuming was an integral part of the student’s creative process. They carefully considered the style, the cut of the outfit, and the color, texture, drape and flow of the fabrics to echo some aspect of the artwork they were responding to. For example, one painting was a large, lush countryside landscape by Robert Peppers titled “Scenic View: A Stripscape.” It had vivid, clean colors of green land and a blue river which was invaded by unsettling and severe, spear-like shapes of granulated coal that sparkled like little black diamonds. Gwendolyn Cardimen danced with this piece. Her costume was a vivid satin blue-green over a sparkling black sequined bodice which peeked from beneath at the neckline front and back and sparkled much like the black coal on the painting. Her dance began by holding a severe stance with her arms positioned rifle-like similar to the coal covered shapes in the painting. She held this unsettling pose as she slowly rotated to sweep the audience.
Each student had at their command a wide vocabulary of movements from which to choreograph their responses to a visual work of art. Congratulations to these accomplished dancers! And their teacher!
Lynda Berman, patron of the arts
