Three improvisational dance groups performing tonight will illustrate the creative process of dance by presenting choreography that they are inventing in the moment.
The improvisational groups include the advanced improvisation dance class at Ohio University, the Performance Improvisation Ensemble (PIE) from The Ohio State University and the dance company Like You Mean It.
The OU dance class, taught by Visiting Assistant Professor of Dance Adriana Durant, will perform first. Each dancer in the class has taken two or three previous improvisation classes.
Improv dancer Madeline Schrock, a junior studying dance, said she considers improvisation to be a craft with techniques and skills that can always be improved.
It's not just about getting out there and doing whatever you think of off the top of your head
Schrock said.
Instead, improvisational dancers have to use their compositional skills and make intelligent decisions based on the movements of fellow dancers.
You have to say 'yes' to what's happening in the group and contribute in your way to it Durant said.
A member of dance company trio, Durant has been practicing improv for 15 years. The lack of restrictions sparked her interest in the art.
In ballet there's right or wrong. In improv
there's no right or wrong
there's just committing to it
Durant said. I could do whatever I wanted as long as I just believed in it. ... I felt like I could be me and be a dancer and not have to just do what I was being told all the time.
The company was founded in 2006 by member Noelle Chun as a product of her Master of Fine Arts project at OSU. She asked Durant and dancer Annie Kloppenberg to join her in the company. They will perform last at the concert.
Improvised music and lighting will accompany the dancers.
A disc jockey will compose music that supports or counterpoints the dancers' choreography. The DJ can play anything from obscure Brazilian music to Britney Spears, as long as it works, Durant said.
Musicians and dancers may consciously create improvisational pieces, but everyone is an agent of improvisations in everyday life.
Everything we do walking around is an improvisation. Everybody improvises whether they realize it or not. ... This is just more of a performance of it
Schrock said.
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Culture
Merete Kenworthy
