"Radioactive Practice" by Abby Zbikowski
"Radioactive Practice" photo of Roobi Gaskins and Gabrielle Loren by Effy Grey
Charles O. Anderson (center) with the cast of his work “A Three-Fifths Proclamation: Come As You Are”.
Professor Charles O. Anderson and Assistant Professor Momar Ndiaye served on faculty of the American Dance Festival (ADF) Summer Dance Intensive in Durham, NC in summer 2022. Anderson and Associate Professor Abby Zbikowski received an enthusiastic review by Dustin K. Britt in Chatham Life & Style of their works performed at the festival; “A Three-Fifths Proclamation: Come As You Are,” a premiere work by Anderson and “Radioactive Practice” by Zbikowski, which premiered at New York Live Arts in New York City on May 18, 2022. Current BFA Students Maddie Denman, Aya Venet, and Sara Wagonmaker joined the Ohio State Dance faculty trio at the festival as participants, making the department’s ADF presence robust.
“Before attending ADF I heard how people in past years always found great community and people in the festival,” says Denman. “Going in with the festival being shorter than past years and the first festival since Covid, I wasn't sure what my experience would be. However, I met and danced with amazing people who inspired me every day. I was able to be a part of Charles Anderson's Footprints work “A Three-Fifths Proclamation: Come As You Are". The community we built as a cast was irreplaceable, I have never felt more connected and as one with any other cast. We were from all over the US, South Korea and the Dominican Republic and came together bonding throughout the process.”
“The four weeks I spent at ADF were both challenging and enjoyable,” says Venet. “I had the wonderful opportunity to work with Shen Wei, where I was continually pushed in my dancing. The intensive gave me the opportunity to be in the presence of other people who also shared a love for dance, and the countless conversations with them is a memory that I will hold tight to.”
"While at ADF, I had the opportunity of working with Kimberly Bartosik to premiere This Place in ADF's Footprints Concert," says Wagenmaker. "I also found time to further explore my interests in participatory and site-responsive dance by creating Rush Hour on three other students, a durational experience inspired by the effect of trains on space and time (excerpt viewable here). By attending performances from dance companies across America and taking class with peers, I was able to contextualize my Ohio State education in the broader field, seeing how different artists push different boundaries to reach their own understanding of what dance is. The month in Durham, North Carolina was invaluable in clarifying my goals with dance as I enter the professional world."
