Innovative movement withÌęheadlamps and skateboarding on display in MFA showcase
Continuing the exciting 2016-17 dance season at CU Âé¶čÓ°Ôș is â,â a showcase of two works by MFA students intent on uncovering who we really are underneath our societyâs thick layers of commercialism and social standards. These two works, incorporating contemporary dance, animal instinct and skateboarding, come to CUâsÌę Oct. 21-23.
Both works in âBonelessâ use richly physical movement to peer beneath the surface of human existence to discover who we are without social expectations and commercialization.
âIâve always been troubled by social constructsâthings that tell us how we should look or feel or behave in order to be in alignment with whatâs expected,â says , an MFA candidate in dance who choreographed a piece in âBoneless.â âI got curious about what happens if we strip ourselves of those expectations and give voice to whatâs been silenced.â
A sensorial journey investigating the relationship between mind, body and spirit, Dodsonâs piece twists and writhes, turning the self inside out to explore oneâs inner landscape. In the work, performers play with light and darkness by moving with head lamps and strategically hiding and revealing parts of themselves. Movement alternates between the classical and the primal to represent the animal lurking beneath each of our carefully-curated façades.
During rehearsals, Dodson and her cast of seven dancers used their own personal experiences with times when their families, careers and looks didnât fit traditional social norms to create their own original movements in the piece.âThe feelings they generated were the same even though their experiences were different,â Dodson says. âThe common threads were the feelings they had about their own personal inadequacies and the way that affected their perceptions of themselves.â
, another MFA student whose work is showcased in âBoneless,â is also interested in who we really are when we leave the noise of the outside world behind. In his piece, he uses contemporary dance and skateboarding to investigate whether brands and advertising have taken away our individuality.
âIf you were a skateboarder back in the day, youâd go into a skate shop and buy a board, and that was it,â he says. Now itâs, âWhat shoes and signature clothing line are you wearing, and what does your custom deck look like?â Now people can make millions of dollars doing something that was invented in the 1970s in Southern California as a way to get to the beach.â
Irvin, an avid skateboarder himself, worries what happens when art forms, including skateboarding, food-making and digital media, arenât given enough space to thrive in non-commercial ways.
âWhen business practices take over, you lose the artistic nature of some of these things,â Irvin says.
Irvinâs piece, which features only Irvin himself and his friend and collaborator Aaron Allen, uses skateboards and Skittles to ruminate on the way money sometimes dilutes authenticity.
In the world of dance, itâs unique to see modern dance and skateboarding intertwineâbut Irvin is surprised it doesnât happen more often. He believes theyâre more alike than different.
âI think theyâre both fueled by whatâs happening in the world politically, and they both use the full body in surprising ways,â he says. âSometimes a trick can be so intricate and detailed, and it takes a lot of discipline to land it. Itâs the same thing in dance.â
Performances
Friday, Oct. 21, 7:30 p.m.
Saturday, Oct. 22, 7:30 p.m.
Sunday, Oct. 23, 2 p.m.
All events take place in the Charlotte York Irey Theatre.
Tickets for âBonelessâ start at $16. To purchase tickets, visit the CU Presents box office in person (972 Broadway), call 303-492-8008 during business hours or anytime. Note: All online and phone orders are subject to a service fee.
Coming up later this fall is â,â a student-produced and CU Dance Connection-created showcase, and â,â a sampler of graduate and undergraduate student works.
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