Camille Pfister
Executive Editor
The Tennessee Williams Center theater was packed. Excited whispers of anticipation echoed through the room. Audience members sat in bleachers in front of a lit up screen and an empty dance floor just waiting for the feet about to grace it. The lights went out. The only visible thing on stage was the glow in the dark tape used for dancers to find their spot. Lights came on, music played. DanceWise: Traces began.
DanceWise is a beloved Sewanee tradition. Taking place every fall semester, Sewanee students, as well as the occasional faculty, alumni, or special guest, show off their amazing dancing skills in front of a delighted audience. Each year DanceWise has a different theme, which the dancers interpret. This year the theme was Traces, which, according to the Director’s Note, encouraged the choreographers to explore “‘leaving their mark’ as traces of themselves with the people and places they encounter.”
Photo courtesy of The University of the South
The first dance, entitled “Time and Space,” had six dancers who wore corresponding costumes. Three of the dancers wore pink pants with short sleeved white shirts, and three wore green pants with long sleeved white shirts. The dance included two songs, “Lost in Time and Space” by Lord Huron and “Dog Days are Over” by Florence and the Machine. The dance perfectly corresponded to the beat and flow of the music, and each dancer had their own moment in the spotlight, before they finally all returned to one another, gliding off the stage, arms around each other.
Other dances included multiple songs, like “You and I,” which blended “Abstract (Psychopomp)” and “Francesca” by Hozier, “Leave No Trace,” which used both “Ses Mains Tremblant (Encore)” by Sylvain Chauveau, and “A Place” by Nils Frahm, and “Loveproof Sufferer” which incorporated three Taylor Swift songs, “Ivy,” “Willow,” and “Happiness,” all from her evermore album. All of these dances managed to merge these songs so well together, telling simultaneously unique and connected stories.
All of the dances used lighting in unique ways, like the second dance of the evening, “Stranger Love,” which began with a spotlight on the three dancers as they knelt on the floor before the light flooded the stage, coming from the lit up background. “Reprieve,” another dance, included a single spotlight, and shadows on the back screen. In “Loveproof Sufferer” each dancer had a solo moment on stage, turning towards the audience, while the rest of the dancers faced the back wall. While the dancer got their solo, there was a bright spotlight illuminating them.
Each dance was unique and captivating. Most of the dances used modern songs sung in English as backdrops for their performances, but others took a different approach. “Come Alive” was one of these dances, using the song, “Come Alive” from The Greatest Showman. Another notable performance was the final performance “Assemblage” which used the song “Agolo” (Da Capo’s Touch) by Angelique Kidjo, which is sung in Yoruba, a West African language spoken largely in Nigeria. Other performances had instrumental songs, allowing the audience to make their own interpretations using only the tempo of the music and the movements of the dancers.
The costumes were also a large part of the beauty of DanceWise. One dance, “Leave No Trace” had costumes made of recycled materials. The Artistic Director of DanceWise Courtney World collaborated with Katie Sweeton to make the costumes and they took the audience’s breath away. Another breathtaking costume moment was in “Loveproof Sufferer” when in the darkness of the theater an array of twinkle lights woven into the costumes made one of each dancer’s arms light up. Each of the costumes brought a unique aspect to the performance, whether that be the bright red fishnet gloves contrasting with the gray costumes of “Growing Apart” or the brightly colored outfits of “Assemblage.”
“Come Alive” was also one of two performances that included props. The dancers had desks that they sat behind, miming typing on a keyboard. In time with the music, they would occasionally raise their hands to the sky, before each one finally broke free from their desk, removing their black suit jacket and revealing the bright pink leotard beneath. The other dance to include props was “Yes, Indeed!” which was a tap performance, choreographed by World. The dancers brought chairs with them onto the stage and sat down, letting their feet do the work. Throughout the dance they would get more energized and eventually get out of their chairs and bring their dance to the full body.
While in most performances, each dancer got a solo moment on stage, there was only one dance of the night that was performed by only one dancer. “Premier” was performed by an alumni of Sewanee, Arthur Ndombe (C ’16). Ndoumbe was the first dance minor to graduate from Sewanee, and now has a career in artistic collaborations in set design for fashion publications. Ndombe’s performance was combined with an instrumental song and his movements were precise and beautiful. As the music faded and the lights dimmed, Ndombe stood still on stage, staring at the audience, silent and powerful.
DanceWise: Traces is the 10th annual DanceWise, and in celebration of this anniversary, this performance had several alumni a part of the show. As said above, Ndombe was the first dance minor to graduate from Sewanee, and choreographed and performed his dance. The last three performances of the night were choreographed by alumni, Ndombe’s “Premier,” Karissa Wheeler (C ’19)’s “Come Alive,” and Friden N. Tchoukoua (C ’17)’s “Assemblage.” Wheeler is an actor, singer, dancer, arts educator, author, podcaster, and formal titleholder within the Miss America organization. Tchoukoua has been named Sewanee’s “Dancing Doctor” for both performing professionally with Modern Connections Dance Theater in Boston and now a general surgeon.
DanceWise is a beloved, beautiful, and inspiring performance and I hope its around for another ten years. If you missed this year’s, make sure to make your way to the TWC next fall for what I’m sure will be another stunning performance. Until then, the TWC will be putting on A Streetcar Named Desire in the spring, so make sure to be on the lookout for dates and tickets!