Whether it’s twirling in tulle, kneeling in neons or leaping in lace, dancers will move with controlled energy in this weekend’s Spring Senior Dance Concert.
“Dance isn’t just about kinesthetic happening,” said R. Eric Hill, a senior studying dance. “There is a whole logic and thought process, and it’s stimulating for the mind to think of something in a new way without words.”
Hill is one of the 12 senior dance majors who have choreographed pieces for this year’s Spring Senior Dance Concert, which will take place 7 p.m. and 9 p.m. Saturday and 2 p.m. Sunday in the Shirley Wimmer Dance Theatre in Putnam Hall. Admission is free for students.
Each piece draws its influence from a different source. While Ohio University’s dance program is grounded in modern dance, Hill looks to post-modern dance for inspiration.
The post-modern era is more gestural and has less movement, and Hill said his pieces aim to make the audience feel somewhat uncomfortable.
“If people don’t understand what they see, then they are thinking about what is going on,” Hill said. “I really want people to think.”
Hill’s piece is a solo piece, meaning he choreographed it and will perform it alone. Some of the performances are solo while others are group pieces.
The group pieces are choreographed by seniors but will be performed by other dance majors. Elizabeth Dunlap, a senior dance major, crafted a seven-person dance that was inspired by the motion associated with natural disasters.
“Movements are sharp and powerful, and the energy is really high,” she said. The red, orange and yellow costumes that dancers wear during her piece embody her bold theme.
Dunlap said she struggled because she perceives herself as more of a performer than a choreographer. Conversely, Whitney Joseph, a senior studying dance, sees her strength as choreography, yet she also must perform in her solo piece.
“For me it’s almost out of my comfort zone to do a solo, but it’s really good for me,” Joseph said.
While Joseph’s piece is based on the progression of time layered with textured soft and sharp movements, what she enjoys about the show is that each of the 12 pieces employs different techniques and concepts, she said.
“If all you have seen is So You Think You Can Dance, this is such a different thing,” Hill said. “You need to experience it if you never have.”
jc543108@ohiou.edu
@ThePostCulture
