From ancient traditions to hip-hop to today’s technology, this weekend’s dance concert has a bit of something for everyone.
From Nov. 2 – Nov. 4, Ohio State’s Department of Dance will present “virtual.rituals/altered.worlds,” a graduate and seniors honors dance performance at Sullivant Hall Theater. Tickets are $5 at the door and the performances begin at 8 p.m.
The production will feature works by two master of fine arts candidates and a senior in dance, and will cover a range of aesthetics, styles and concepts.
Sarah Hixon, a third year student of the master’s program will present “Of the Transcendent Unknown,” a group piece she choreographed which incorporates both Asian art traditions and European Baroque dance styles.
In the piece, common societal and cultural values are interpreted through theater and dance and the work portrays a spiritual journey and transformation.
“The piece is more about ritual and mythology, sort of relating a lot of imagery but not necessarily a linear story,” Hixon said.
“Abandoned Revolution,” is a multimedia work to be presented by dance and technology MFA candidate Boris Willis. It is a live video game that integrates animation, live action, game shows, dance and theater, and is set to an original score created on a Nintendo Game Boy.
“I wanted to do a piece about the culture we live in – the 21st century,” Willis said.
During the performance, the audience will play the video game while learning the fundamentals of dance history.
“I didn’t want to make a dance piece,” Willis said. “I don’t call it a dance; I call it a live video game. So many people say, ‘I don’t really understand dance, I don’t get what they’re doing.’ I wanted people to leave feeling like they did get something. My hope is that people watch it and then are inspired to go find out more.”
Sara Wiseman, a senior in dance, is set to perform “The Be-Girl Diaries,” a new work by OSU alumna Teena Custer. The hip-hop piece utilizes styles of “b-girling” and “rocking” while examining gender roles in hip-hop culture.
“It features a eulogy of hip-hop, or addresses the death of hip hop as an art form and the sale of it commercially,” Wiseman said. “Teena is really great about taking what I’ve normally done as street or club dances and putting them into a theatrical setting and through that she’s able to comment on what is happening in hip hop.”
Whether interested in the b-girl styling of Wiseman’s piece, the modern dance techniques of Hixon’s or the fusion of performance and technology in Willis’ work, viewers are promised an enjoyable evening.
“It is going to expose people to different ideas about dance and different kinds of dance,” Hixon said.
“A lot of it is about contemporary times, mine is definitely a piece about the current generation and uses the tools this generation is familiar with,” Willis said. “The night will definitely be a lot of fun, entertaining and educational, without trying to be educational.”
