Performance Program

 

DAN 720

Embodied Movement Practices in the Performing Arts

 

 

Graduate Performance Showcase / Spring 2022

 

 

Patience

Performer: Jamie Bunce

Source material: "Grace" by Morgan Harper Nichols and "Patience" by Guns N' Roses

This piece is about the value and perception of time, grief over lost time and opportunities, and the search for peace and self-forgiveness in my struggle with time blindness and dissociative episodes.

 

    Longing

Performer: Elmira David

    Music: "Just the Two of Us" by Grover Washington Jr. and Bill Withers.

I am trying to communicate what it looks and feels like to be an individual who is longing to be with someone they think/believe is good for them. The thought of being with that person takes over and an imaginary scenario is thus created. This individual then proceeds to find ways to convince the person they are longing for that if the two of them make the effort, they can create a beautiful relationship together.

 

Trapped

Performer: Leo Folsom

 

“Only when the trapped are released,

Can they show the world and themselves their true self.

Only once the chains are broken, can arms turn to wings and the soul fly.

Only after blinds are lifted, can eyes lock and speak of the cosmos.

Only once collars are broken, can the soul abound and learn what it is to discover. 

Only then, is the spirit free.”

-Leo Folsom 2022

 

My piece shows an animal, bound in a cage, confused by the circumstances it finds itself in. As it explores its tiny enclosure it gets more and more frustrated and enraged, madly banging on the walls that bind it. In a last ditch effort to gain freedom it breaks through the cage and finds itself in the open air. Curious, the animal begins to look around, to explore its new expanded surroundings. As it looks, the effort becomes greater and greater as slowly the animal begins to walk upright. Finally, with much effort and a deep breath the animal walks upright and shows its true nature. A man, coming into the world and itself. It walks around with new found knowledge of itself, enjoying looking upon the surroundings with a new perspective. Finally, it walks to the center and sits, content in itself.

 

 

Memory

Performer: Wenzhe Li

 

My piece is a combination of singing and speaking. These actions are variations on the one theme: Memory. The song named “Grandma’s Penghu Bay”. This is the first song I learnt from my Dad. I haven’t seen them in about 4 years, since pandemic started. I miss them so much.

I stay in the corner of the space, showing I was stuck in a small room by myself and no one could help because I got COVID, and has to stay away from others. Then I fall asleep and dream I go back home and sing this song with my father. At the end, I wake up to realized I am still away from home and have to face all the changes of my life.

 

I am Woman

Performer: Simone Monroe

A girl is nurtured in an environment that enables her to feel empowered and strong.  Despite setbacks and expectations of being less than, she becomes a woman that is content and aware of who she is, as well as being set on a path to greatness.  She understands that she doesn't need the attention of others to feel whole, yet ironically, she receives it.  It is because of who she is and where she comes from that makes her so powerful wherever she goes.

 

 

Trapped

Performer: Lorena Surducan

Music: Sub Palarie by Lorena Surducan

My piece is an illustration of the impact of fear on my self-esteem. I imagine myself around a lake, just walking around it. While it is dark around me, the stars and the moon are bright enough to show me around. I keep seeing this fence all around the lake and myself. Even though I try to imagine it disappear, it always reappears; so eventually I just let it be. I realize that I am trapped in this box - a box that is built by my own need for assurance, love, and acceptance by others. I wrote this song ("Sub Palarie" a few years ago on the famous poem titled "Blue Flower" and written by Romanian writer Mihai Eminescu. The translation of the first verse is:

 

You ride the clouds and range the sky

Your net about the stars cast;

But do remember dear at last

My soul can never soar so high.

 

 

 

Separation

Performer: Xiao Xu

Music: 《Remember me》《送别》

The ideas that I would like to share in my piece is the pain of separation. People are always facing separation, death, forgetting. This is something that people are very afraid of. We should cherish things and people around us that are not yet separated between us.

 

Invisible Strength

Performer: Hsin-Han Hung

 

My piece tries to convey how "lives" react and reflect on daily judgments. Language has immense power, and its impact depends entirely on how we wield it. Words are so often used automatically and unconsciously, however, we often treat those daily conversations, encouragements, judgments, jokes, evaluations and critiques lightly.

If we realized the potential that body language has to create and transform people's lives, we would pay more attention to our utterances. We would be aware of that invisible strength we give to others through expressive movement. All in all, all of those strengths will react and reflect on ourselves as we tell our own story.

 

La Negra Atilia

Performer: Victoria Nieto

In my piece I use a folk Venezuelan poem to describe a black woman that wakes up before the sun is out to sell diverse products on the beach. The poem briefly describes each product and then ends with a note saying that she was able to sell everything right before the sun goes out.

Thus, I have created a story about Atilia being a single mom that must work early in the morning before her son wakes up. She goes out, being tired and all but, puts on a smile and does her best to bring money back home.

 

Insignificant Me

Performer: Yi Mei Ciou

Chinese Poem: 念奴嬌 赤壁懷古 Charm of a Maiden Singer

In my piece, I try to communicate with myself and express my sadness about how insignificant I feel. I believe that once I accept how insignificant I feel about myself, is the moment when I can move on.

 

More Space

Performer: Scott Aucoin

My piece explores my experience as a person with a larger body. From daily life to working on finding acceptance to advocating for myself, I want my piece to be a reminder that my existence is valid.

 

Master of Your Destiny

Performer: Jack Hontz

This piece explores the conflict and struggle that lies in each of us. Down one path is the destiny that others have cast for us. This path might offer stability, might seem logical, and might please those around us...but at a cost. 

The other path lies shrouded in mystery and doubt. Along the way there are those who will judge you, ridicule you, and root for your failure. But this path is forged by the one person who matters - you.

This piece is about listening to yourself, but more importantly, about having the courage to act on what you hear. It takes courage to be your own person and not let your identity be defined by others. But only through this courage can you achieve true happiness. Trust yourself.