Chloe Wright
Junior Editor
Pastel lights softly shone on the Proctor Hill Theatre stage as peaceful lo-fi music cued the introduction of this year’s dancers. They swept themselves across the floor, and each carried an orb glowing with the color corresponding to that on the floor, where a drawing of an open eye was projected. For this year’s DanceWise, the 11th in Sewanee’s history, the chosen theme was “eye of the beholder,” referencing the famous idiom describing what defines beauty. The work by student choreographers, Guest Artist Cameron McKinney, faculty, students, and staff resulted in an organized and awe-inspiring spectacle.
DanceWise is one of many chances the Theatre and Dance Department provides to involve students, faculty, staff, and guest artists to collaborate and contribute to a shared vision. What is unique about the showcase is the chance for seniors to choreograph movements. World said, “Our choreographers were all experienced and well-equipped to take on the leadership responsibilities of choreographing for this mainstage production. I trusted each of them to put in the necessary work, communicate with the production team, and foster a supportive community in each of their rehearsals,” Associate Professor Courtney World said.
World’s role as Artistic Director of DanceWise allows her to give space to the choreographers to develop their style and, if need be, request her help. But, while giving the student choreographers carte blanche, she is “incredibly proud of their work and it was a pleasure to support each of them in this process.”
Two fantastic examples of student choreographed work were Kate White’s (C’ 25) “The Tourists”, a three-piece performance to singer Regina Spektor’s “Us,” and Reagan Nash’s (C’ 25) “Unraveled Requiem”, an ensemble piece set to Queen’s “Bohemian Rhapsody.” The motif of the dancers holding glowing orbs carried on throughout the performance, acting as an interlude between each piece. The audience was captivated with the direction of all pieces. From tap dance to contemporary to ballet, all floorworks were represented in DanceWise, and each dancer gave their all in this collaborative effort.
Courtney World’s dance, “Collective Daydream”, elicited images of girlhood and the joys of youth. The costumes, which were also a product of student and faculty cooperation, were reminiscent of colorful, flowery pajamas, and the dancers excitedly pranced around in glee to “Is It Love” by Daniel Lentz.
This year’s Guest Artist was Cameron McKinney who held a residence in Sewanee during this semester and reframed the existing choreography of “Strange Attractor” for a select number of DanceWise students. Inspired by his Japanese cultural and language study, he combines streetdance, contemporary floorwork, and butoh (an ineffable Japanese dance style) to lead Kizuna Dance, a multicultural dance studio with worldwide recognition. His website for Kizuna Dance has the following tagline: “Cultural Ambassadorship through the Performing Arts.”
World was impressed with his technique and development of his career and wanted to showcase his talents and message of multiculturalism for Sewanee’s community. “Since I arrived at Sewanee in 2013, I have been committed to bringing guest artists of color whenever possible. As the sole dance faculty at Sewanee, I offer only one voice, and one perspective, which cannot possibly represent the multitude of identities, perspectives, and styles of dance. Any guest I will bring will offer something new and different for our students and audiences, and I am especially interested in offering opportunities to artists of underrepresented or marginalized identities and exposing students and audiences to styles of dance that are often underrepresented on the concert dance stage.”
One of the dancers chosen for McKinney’s performance, Ansley Tillman (C’ 28), enthused about working with him during the development of “Strange Attractor.” “Over the course of three days, we learned his piece which is about conductors. He studied conductors and how they move…When he demonstrated anything, it was probably one of the coolest dances I’ve seen, too. He made his own style.” When speaking of his music (since he composed one of the tracks for this piece and reworked the other), she said, “He made the music as he went. So, he edited, paced, looped anything to match with our timing…When I asked him about his choreographic process, he said that he essentially makes it on the spot.”
When asked what emotion she and her choreographers want to elicit through the performance, World stated that “dance is art and it is open to interpretation. I just want them to feel something.” After all, beauty is in the eye of the audience.