Maddie Luebkert, Special to The Denisonian—
Thorsen dance studio, with closed curtains illuminated by orange, pink and purple hues, the audience buzzes with anticipation. Everyone gathers in the chairs lining the back of the studio with friends coming to support friends, and faculty coming to cheer on students. The seats fill up so quickly that some are left to watch outside the doors. Senior dance fellow, Grace Han ‘24, steps out to the stage and reveals the order of the show. The festival features performances from the Denison Modern Dance Company, Ballet Club, and the campus hip-hop group IDM (Inspire, Diversify, Move).
Some students made their first dance debuts during the Festival, such as Emmanuel Rodriguez ‘27. With an extensive background in dance, Rodriguez performed his first solo with Denison University. This performance will not be his last, however, as he is already working to create choreography for the next campus performance coming up.
Though some of the choreography may be in the modern style, one group performed choreography over a century old. The Ballet Club decided to perform a section of choreography from a ballet titled La Bayadére. This ballet, created around the 19th century, depicts a story set in Royal India about love, betrayal and vengeance. Though the section of choreography the club chose is usually performed as a solo, they modified it to include several performers so everyone could have a chance to be a part of the dance.
As the show was nearing an end, it was time for Julia Rizzo ‘24, senior dance fellow, to perform their duet with Anna Jones ‘24. In this piece, Rizzo decided to combine two different art forms into their choreography. While Rizzo danced, Jones posed in the middle of the floor while working on charcoal sketches. Rizzo would dance around Jones, attempting to interact with her, but ultimately being pushed away as Jones engulfed herself in her sketches.
Rizzo stated that the inspiration for this piece came from her overarching theme for the year: love versus apathy. They went into the piece knowing they wanted to experiment with combining dance and other art forms and immediately thought of artist Anna Jones who had been wanting to experiment similarly. When it came to creating the piece, Rizzo said that she started by picking the music that she wanted and then analyzed what thoughts, feelings, and emotions arise when listening to the song.
Rizzo also claims that when it comes to creating choreography, the process does not usually have a set end or finish. She says that she still made changes and finishing touches the night of the festival. Rizzo likes having the flexibility to change things she doesn’t like or changes her mind about. Though the dancing part of the performance needed to be planned and choreographed ahead of time, Jones discloses that the sketches she created during the performance were not planned. In the same way that the music inspires Rizzo’s choreography it also inspires Jones’ artwork.
In the dance, Rizzo and Jones represent characters based on love and apathy. In the dance, Rizzo’s character attempts to reach out to Jones’ character throughout the piece to no avail. Jones’ character continues to ignore her therefore representing apathy, whereas Rizzo’s character represents love.
Applause echoes throughout the studio as Grace Han steps back out into the spotlight to thank the audience and close the show. Then, the audience pours out into the hallway as they exchange many hugs and congratulations with the waiting performers. The next dance-related event coming up is the fall concert titled Renaissance/Renacimiento. It will take place Nov. 11, from 7-8:30 in Thorsen Studio.