Ohio State graduate students Jolene Bartley, Karena Birk, Lily Skove and Rodney Veal are taking a conventional approach for their final project this winter in the Master of Fine Arts degree program for the Department of Dance.
The four are teaming up to present the “Winter Perspective Dance Concert,” which will be a night of varied performances from 19th century Romantic period ballet to contemporary dance.
“Some students are exploring movement therapy and motion capture for their projects, but we all wanted to do something more traditional and decided to come together for one concert,” Birk said.
Birk will perform two solos, “La Cachucha,” a Spanish-inspired ballet, and “Fourth Song,” taken from the 1957 ballet “Dark Elegies.” She will also perform a debut duet with Bartley choreographed by Department of Dance faculty member Melanie Bales.
“‘La Cachucha’ is a romantic ballet but it’s also very ethereal,” Birk said. “It’s a historical piece and it has a very earthy art form about it.”
While performing “La Cachucha,” Birk will also be playing the castanets, Spanish musical instruments that are wrapped around the fingers to make clapping sounds.
“Fourth song is a darker piece that draws on modern dance elements different from classical ballet,” Birk said.
Birk has been studying and rehearsing her selections for more than a year. Labanotation, named after choreographer Rudolph Laban, has been her primary method for learning the dances.
Like musical notation, Labanotation uses a staff, but instead of five lines it has three. The lines are vertical and anything involving the left side of the body is written on the left of the staff, same goes for the right. The different symbols on the staff represent the length of time and direction a movement should take place.
“It’s pretty easy to learn once you catch onto it,” Birk said.
If you’re expecting to see a bunch of pink tutus and satin pointed-toe shoes, you will be in for a surprise. Each solo will have its own unique set of costumes in many different colors and textures.
Birk’s “La Cachucha” ensemble is a long, umbrella-shaped skirt with black lace and tulle sewn into the bottom. For “Fourth Song,” she will be wearing a peasant-style linen dress and brown slippers that “reflect the simplistic mood of the dance,” Birk said.
“You will have a wide variety of things to sample,” Birk said. “You will see one dance and then another that will be completely different.”
The concert will take place Thursday, Feb. 11 and Saturday, Feb. 13 at 8 p.m. and Sunday, Feb. 14 at 2 p.m. in Sullivant Hall Theatre. Tickets can be purchased at the door for $10 general admission and $5 for senior citizens and students with a BuckID.
