Ohio State’s Department of Dance introduced the works of four master of fine arts candidates Thursday and Friday at OSU Urban Arts Space.

Both performances started at 7:30 p.m. and ended at 10 p.m. The performances were open and free to the public.

The exhibition, titled “Spring Perspective,” showcased the graduate students’ final projects to the community.

“Spring Perspective” explored four central themes: scale, motion through technology, memory and light presence.

Lindsay Caddle LaPointe, a third-year graduate student in dance, presented “OVERSIZED.” It was a collection of four dances, “Stamp,” “Basket,” “Corn” and “Chair,” dedicated to large objects in Ohio.

Lily Skove’s “The Edge of Visibility” was an array of videos complementing light as presence. Skove is a choreographer and dance artist seeking an masters’s degree in dance and technology.

Rodney Veal, a third-year master’s degree candidate in choreography, presented “The Persistence of Memory II,” a combination of sculpture and video depicting memory as it relates to movement.

Lise Worthen-Chaudhari, a master’s degree candidate in dance and technology, displayed “Embedded Arts,” images and demonstrations embracing movement and technology in stroke and spinal cord injury rehabilitation.

A short video, “Seedling,” was also shown to provide an insight of the amount of work that went into each piece. Rashana Smith, a master’s degree candidate in dance and technology, created the film.

Each piece took several years to create, produce, perform and perfect.
“It’s never as simple as you think,” Veal said.

Each student invited the audience to experience the art projects in a more intimate way through a physical dance performance during the production.

“It’s amazing how they are making art out of movement and movements out of art,” said Sheila Stone, spectator and cousin to Worthen-Chaudhari.

The students showcased their projects before but never collectively.

“It was more informal and challenging performing together. We each had strong concepts, so we had to adapt to the space,” Worthen-Chaudhari said.

OSU Urban Arts Space set a tranquil mood for the performances with dim lighting and bare white walls.

Fitting four elaborate performances into one space was difficult, but the cast worked together to accommodate each another’s needs, Worthen-Chaudhari said.

The cohesive group of artists provided a smooth production that intrigued the audience.

“We were lucky to have such a great group of performers,” Worthen-Chaudhari said.

Not only did the students want to showcase projects that had taken years to complete, but it also was important for them to reach out to a broader audience.

The focus of the exhibit was closely related to the vision of Urban Arts Space.

“The Ohio State University Urban Arts Space challenges our ways of thinking about the performing and visual arts and their role in everyday life through conversation, art-making and experimentation. The OSU Urban Arts Space encourages transformative experiences that expand world views, offer hands-on practical experiences in the arts and education and develop new career skills to reflect an entrepreneurial culture,” according to the OSU Urban Arts Space Web site.

Spectators came and went as they watched each performance. There wasn’t a particular type of audience member. Some were friends and family of the students and others were curious residents.

“Our main goal was to bring dance out of the theater,” Skove said, “and closer to people in the community.”