Last Friday and Saturday, the Fieldston Community was treated to something really special: this year’s Spring Dance Concert, which featured dancers from the Fieldston Dance company as well as many dancers from different forms. All of these dances were student choreographed, and not only showcased their excellent technical skill, but also their artistic visions. The performances were a true collaboration, not only between the multiple dancers on stage, working together to create beautiful, moving pictures, but also between the choreographers and the dancers, whose combined efforts allowed the dances to transcend beyond being pretty movements on a stage and allowed them to become stories and moments. Robert O’Neil, director of the theater company, noted: “ Fourteen choreographers and twenty-five dancers have been in our studios since February, experiencing the challenges and excitement of dance-making. Choreography cannot be taught or read in a book. Each choreographer must find his or her own way through the daunting process of literally fleshing out an idea – transforming a personal interest, concern, or physical construct into movement form.
The stories told through these dances, each highlighted something from the everyday but also grappled with complicated questions like “what happens when you fall in love with your best friend?” to the intricately complex emotions experienced by people of color across America in reaction to the deaths of Eric Garner and Mike Brown. These dances captivated the audience and allowed them, for a few moments, to be taken on a journey, to be transported into the space of the choreographer’s vision, and to come away with a brand new perspective. Mark Anthony Graham (V) described his experience choreographing his routine: “I started with a sound. I built my music through a playlist I made on my phone that had music that made me inspired me to move and choreograph. In that playlist were songs by FKAtwigs, Beyoncé,
J Cole, Kanye West, Drake,
Rihanna, and Azealia Banks. Once I found a sound I liked, I bounced around between songs before settling on Haunted by Beyoncé. I used movement that I created from all of the songs and put it together while keeping in mind spacing and the amount of dancers I had. Sometimes I did not have much planned during a rehearsal so my dancers and I would build a dance phrase on the spot. My dancers were very helpful in this process! Their improvisation and ideas were extremely useful.”It is events like these, that allow the students to not only express themselves in whatever way they chose but to let them take leadership and ownership over doing so that helps to make Fieldston the special place it is. Graham also talked about what it felt like to be the only male dancer in the company:
“Honestly I never notice it until people point it out! I am used to it because there are no other guys in the dance program at Fieldston. It really is great because I get to do what I love around so many beautiful young women. I am close to so many of the girls, we’re like a mini community and have grown so much closer through the rehearsal process. Dance is so crucial to expression and is one of the most influential art forms and while being the only male dancer is fun, I encourage other guys to experience dance at Fieldston in the way I do.”
Dance is so crucial to expression and is one of the most influential art forms
