Movement is an aspect of life that can go unnoticed in the daily grind, but a dance performance Thursday and Friday night will aim to examine just that.
The Movement Organization, an all-student group consisting mostly of dance students, is putting on the annual The Movement Lab Concert. The show will feature a variety of nine different dances, from solos to duets to full-group pieces.
Liz Conway, president of The Movement and a junior studying dance, stressed the hard work that had been put into the performance with choreographers and dancers, all part of the organization, working since the beginning of the semester to put the show together.
She said that members of The Movement worked 7-8 hours a week to choreograph their different pieces.
“These dancers and choreographers have been preparing for seven weeks now,” Conway said. “There has been a lot of hard work put into it, and now we want to perform it, and want it to be appreciated.”
Several of The Movement’s members talked about how they wanted the performance to expose students, as well as Athens residents, to dance as an art form.
“The audience should come with a very open mind and leave any prior expectations behind as you come to the concert,” said Emma Rumberg, a junior and publicist for the Movement. “It might not be what you expect, it could be totally different, and it will allow you to enjoy it much more thoroughly.”
The different dances being performed are what will make the show different from other shows. Some of the pieces were designed to present more technical skills while others are based on much more simplistic, emotional movements.
A solo, choreographed and performed by sophomore Bethany Logan, was created to portray dark, “very organic and very raw” undertones. A duet featuring Conway, on the other hand, was designed to be casual and funny as it pokes fun at how people get ready for different activities.
Logan and fellow sophomore Kaitlin Flynn said that the Movement Lab Concert is an accessible introduction to dance for people who aren’t familiar with dance performance.
“It will be a fun time,” Flynn added. “We just want everyone to come and enjoy what we do as much as we do.”
ds834910@ohiou.edu
