The NCSU Dance Company will be presenting its annual spring concert in Stewart Theatre this Thursday and Friday nights at 8 p.m. The concert will feature performances of work by company director Robin Harris, assistant director Autumn Mist Belk, guest artist Claire Porter, and N.C. State student Ashley Walls. The company specializes in modern dance that—according to Harris—presents thoughtful, content- driven work and features dancers that are engaged with their art. ‘What unites our work is a common dedication to process and to achieve work with meaning,’ Harris said.
The works that will be performed this week include Harris’ “HAD NOT THIS ACCIDENT BEFALLEN HER (A Courtroom Drama)” which deals with the performance aspects of the judicial process, to the tune of musical pieces by Leonardo Da Vinci and Antonio Caldara. Harris will also be presenting her 2008 work ‘L-O-V-E’ which uses the construct of a spelling bee as the starting point for an exploration of the different meanings of love.
When asked about the tone of this week’s concerts, Jillian Johnson — graduate student in industrial engineering—said that there is “a lot of darkness in this particular concert, but there are defiantly humorous movements as well.” Johnson said that, “L-O-V-E” deals with our interpretations of love, not all of which have happy consequences.’
Belk’s first piece in the concert – “The Evolution of Breakfast”– concerns the transformation of breakfast from a family-centered ritual to a drive-thru and Starbucks culture. Belk will also be presenting her 2004 piece ‘Zoo’ which, according to the program’s press release, “examines the question ‘is there an outside force shaping the paths of our lives?’ and illustrates the results when over-reaching authority interferes with nature.”
Fresh off their acclaimed performance at the American College Dance Festival Association’s regional conference, Ashley Walls’ work “but today, they’re all gone (Mr. Davis)” features just two dancers, a table and the music of Steve Reich. Wall’s use of Steve Reich’s piece “Different Trains” was called a “monumental achievement” by one of the judges at the ACDFA conference. Walls’ piece placed third overall out of over 50 other pieces from universities from the mid-Atlantic region and is the first alternate for the ACDFA National Gala this May at the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C.
Kelly Bryant, a sophomore in animal science, said that Walls’ dance is “a really human piece, it makes you think about the relationships between yourself, others and the world.” “But today” uses the suffering of WW-II as a jumping off point into an examination of suffering in general. “I imagine the audience experiences the struggles of others and aren’t able to help, just like in real life,” Bryant also said.
Guest artist Claire Porter’s piece “Matter of influence” is about how we are affected by other people’s decisions. According to Harris, the dancers had to learn the piece in one week due to the limited time available for Porter to attend, but Harris said that “they did a fantastic job of learning so much in such a short amount of time.” Porter is a nationally renowned choreographer and dancer whose works have been called “Droll and beautifully observed character studies” by the Village Voice.
While N.C. State does not offer a degree in dance, the lack of a full-time major allows its dancers to pursue academic degrees as well as gaining copious amounts of real choreographic experience. Harris said that membership in the dance company “requires intense devotion and time management skills.” At N.C. State, the members of the dance company –in addition to all of their time spent on academic studies–spend on average of 20 hours a week in the studio in dance class or for rehearsal time. “As we like to say in the company, it is not an activity—it is a lifestyle,” Harris said.
But how does this type of modern dance, as performed by the NCSU Dance Company, differ from the everyday dance that we all can do on the dance floor ourselves? Johnson said that what makes modern dance an art is not only the expressing of emotion through our bodies but that “layers of meaning and emotion have to be behind it to be art and to not be superficial. That is what separates the kind of dance that we do as a company from every-day dance.”
Experiencing dance first-hand is something that all N.C. State students could benefit from, according to Bryant. “Dance is an art on par with others like music and film. Everyone society around the world considers some type of dance to be an art form. As a student, you should at least once experience an artistic vision of dance at least once for yourself,” Bryant said.
Bryant also finds real emotion as a driving force behind her performance. For her, it is never just going through the motions. “Before we perform ‘But Today’, Jillian and I got into the habit of telling each other sad stories from our own lives and are usually on the verge of tears when we perform,” Bryant said. “I actually feel sad, but there is excitement in sharing art with the audience. It feels good to get to that emotional level and to be able to share it with others.”
Tickets are $5 for NCSU Students, $10 NCSU Faculty/staff and other students, and $12 General Public, and a dessert reception will follow Thursday’s performance.
