The 2012 graduating class has accomplished much throughout the creative development of their senior projects. Research was conducted, concerts were organized, dance-films were created, and student teaching was completed. The variety of projects from members of the senior class supported their array of interests and chosen academic paths.
The concert season kicked off in November 2011 with Physical Graffiti at the Northland Performing Arts Center. It was an evening of eclectic and exciting choreography from Chafin Seymour and the Seymour Dance Collective. The Collective incorporated interchangeable roles between performers and choreographers, committed to sharing their personal perspective and collective voice through movement. Chafin's research paid off, winning third place in the Arts/Architecture category at the Denman Undergraduate Research Forum.
Caroline Bramlage choreographed and performed a contemporary solo at The McCoy Center for the Arts in New Albany. It was important for her to tie all that she had learned at Ohio State back to the community in which she grew up.
In late April, a group of four seniors came together to present Velocity Shifting at the Columbus Dance Theatre. The event featured two evenings of new and energizing dance works, athletic physicality, raw performance sensibility, and sophisticated musicality. In Bona Fide Hoopla, Melanie Gallo presented a physical, quirky, and interdisciplinary dance where viewers were allowed a glimpse into the mind of a dancer. Haley Harrison's work entitled Amp Her Up and Emancipate, was a culmination of her intercultural exchange, film documentation, and experiences in global dance settings. Alyssa LeRose performed an athletic solo choreographed by Danté Brown, Kristen Jeppsen Groves, and Erik Speth. Alexandra Runyon wished to push the boundaries of individuality within a group setting in her piece. She further expanded this concept by using her knowledge of lighting design to create a world for both the dancers and the audience.
The Spring Dance Festival was presented in early May and featured site-specific dances, a climbing wall performance, a video showing at the Blackwell, and a multidisciplinary concert.
Kristin Loy researched, choreographed, and produced a site-specific performance on a wall at the Tom W. Davis Climbing Center within OSU's Outdoor Adventure Center. She explored the possibilities of dance in the vertical plane, combined dance and climbing aesthetics, and changed the audience's perception of space. Her work won first place in the Arts/Architecture category at the Denman Undergraduate Research Forum. Amanda Platt collaborated on this project by adding a contact improvisation component. The exploration was inspired by her time spent with noted contact improvisation expert, Nancy Stark Smith, over winter quarter.
Mike Abbatiello choreographed, filmed, and edited a dance film focusing on the physical location of choreography and gender roles. Elaine Berman's dance film Remote depicted a world within a world–seeing into the minds of bodies in space. The scene of watching something on television became less focal as the viewer dove into the gestures/hands and expressions/eyes of the dancers in the film. These films premiered at the Blackwell on Saturday, along with Haley Harrison's documentary on her trip to Burkina Faso, West Africa.
The festival concluded with an existence in bet[we]en, a collection of works presented at The EMMA Lab at ACCAD. This concert featured interdisciplinary performances and installations that explored the embodiment of the physical and digital realms. The evening began with Courtney Michard's presentation of Link, an installation that examined the moving body confined and segmented within the virtual realm. The work offered a perspective into the physical navigation of digital space. In Framing Traces: Revisiting the Past, Alexandra Vetrano explored the meaning of home and what causes us to leave places and return to them. Memories and personal narrative were presented through mediated and live performances, and created an emotive environment in which the dancers dwelled. Theresa Elwell's work exemplified the raw struggles imposed by time. Stemming from the view of two differing cultures, this creative compilation of dance and film exposed cultural habits, rooted in an intuitive state of hypersensitivity. Elwell was also awarded third place in the Arts/Architecture category at the Denman Undergrad Research Forum. Video documentation of this performance can be found on the department's Livesteam channel.
Jessica Boone's work evolved from the development and exploration of interpersonal culture amongst the performers. Her trio invited the audience to witness the experience of physical sensation as performance, as well as the embodiment of articulate attention. Closing the show was Bettina Vaccarello with Verse 4, a solo choreographed by MFA candidate Erin Carlisle Norton and performed in conjunction with a slam poet and live musician.
Rebecca Quintrell's senior distinction project was a two-part process; learning a new work entitled Dinner Plans from faculty member Meghan Durham, plus directing from Labanotation score and performing the Limón Etude with assistance from Valarie Williams. These two solos, in addition to other senior pieces featuring both live and recorded elements, were presented in an informal showing at BalletMet Studios entitled Behind the Curtain.
Many seniors chose to pursue choreography and teaching opportunities outside of the university. Mary Eller worked with the dance ensemble at Fort Hayes Arts and Academic High School to create dances and facilitate the production of a complete dance concert. The students were given the task of finding a topic that was of interest to them and explore it through movement. Topics included fashion, hallucination, psychology, and imperialism. They then compiled that movement with other phrases to create a piece to perform. She also served as a teaching assistant: running rehearsals, conducting classes and warm-ups, and working backstage. Alyssa Nicholas' focus was on musical theater from the choreographer's perspective, along with discerning how dance is incorporated into public school through existing extra-curricular activities. She co-choreographed the musical Hairspray at Fort Hayes Arts and Academic High School, and taught a musical theater master class with choreography from the show at Arts IMPACT Middle School (AIMS). Jill Rickly taught at Northstar Studios in Sunbury, instructing children aged 3-15 in ballet, jazz, tap, hip-hop, and lyrical. Their recital was recently produced.
The quality and integrity of the work completed by the 2012 Bachelor of Fine Arts candidates demonstrate their ability to enter the competitive world ahead. The Department of Dance is confident in their ability to represent the Ohio State University well past graduation.
–Alexandra Vetrano
