Dance is a global artform. COVID-19 is a global pandemic. During a crisis it is tempting to silo our muses and fears with our local inspirations and tragedies. Many artists are left wondering how to continue making work in such an environment. And how do we continue to collaborate with our international peers amidst travel bans, quarantines and lockdowns?

Ohio State Dance Assistant Professor Nyama McCarthy-Brown’s students investigated this conundrum while working through their first cultural exchange with students at the University of Cape Town in South Africa by uploading dance solos to share for a Resil-arts Project. After responding with their dancing bodies to prompts about how the Ohio State students are experiencing this moment/global pandemic, Cape Town students watched the solos and responded with questions.

The students began the project by watching The Statement, by Crystal Pite. "I selected this work for it's choreographed conflict of viewpoints and embodied polarized stances," says  Dr. McCarthy-Brown. After watching this piece and considering the social context of this time, students wrote a short reflective response. Then they created the embodied or artistic response to prompts about this moment and the pandemic. Cape Town students will exchange similar videos of solos to continue the study and precipitate dialogue. The ultimate goal of the project is to create a mini-documentary about the experience, the works and the findings.

Ohio State Dance hopes to support this initiative by continuing this exchange program with the University of Cape Town going forward. If dance students can make inspiring work in this environment, imagine the possibilities of them eventually working together again in-person.

This Dance in the Time of Covid project was made possible with the support of Ohio State's Global Arts + Humanities Discovery Theme grant. Key players include: 

1. Dr. Nadine George-Graves, Chair of Dance, Professor in Theatre—PI
2. Dr. Nyama McCarthy-Brown, Assistant Professor in Dance—PI
3. Dr. Gerard Samuel, Associate Professor & Head of Section: Dance, Centre for Theatre, Dance & Performance Studies, University of Cape Town
4. Professor Lisa Wilson, Dance, Centre for Theatre, Dance & Performance Studies, University of Cape Town