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April 17, 2006
‘E’ is Emory (Dance Company’s spring concert),
April 27–29

by Nancy Condon

The Emory Dance Company’s spring concert, scheduled for April 27–29, will feature a diverse group of works from student choreographers. The concert, “E,” features seven premiere pieces by students in Emory’s dance program.

College senior Kat Roberts’ piece will be choreographed, taught, learned and performed blindfolded, which she said gives both herself and her four dancers a heightened awareness of the movement.

“You get to know the movement from the inside out because you can’t see it,” she said, “so you have to find your own solutions within your own body without seeing how anyone is solving those movement objectives. For me, this relates to life—we are walking through it with no guarantees as to what the next moment holds, essentially blindfolded.”

Sophomore Natalie Metzger said the arts should act as “a catalyst for dialogue between people and within people about social, political and personal issues.” Her “Scar Your Heart and Lie in Perfection” is a journey through a world of white, where the darker side that lurks inside everyone is revealed to be as essential as purity and perfection for any true human connection.

Senior Daniel Bayer is the first student to choreograph for Emory dance a tap piece, titled “Personal Velocity.” An investigation of the rhythms everyone experiences throughout a day, the piece is “what I’ve wanted to do for most of my life. Since Emory doesn’t offer tap classes, I was eager and excited to bring this form to campus, and to the dancers, most of whom haven’t tapped since they’ve been at Emory.”

Senior SchMiyah Smith’s piece is an investigation of change and how people deal with it on a daily basis. “This is a new venture for me,” said Smith, who also choreographed for the company’s 2005 spring concert. “I am working on incorporating different movement vocabularies and tempos to relay my ideas, and I’m finally getting comfortable with the more up-tempo pace.” The piece is entitled “DEMO (Drop Off).”

“I have a natural tendency to analyze and structure my world,” said senior Tracy Friedlander. “Dancing is the form through which I release these tendencies.” Her tentatively titled “Approaching Gray” is a reflection of the drastic change in routine she anticipates upon reaching “the next stage” of her life. The piece “highlights the opposition and juxtaposition of two different times of my life,” she said.

As a choreographer, senior Amber Howell is “deeply inspired” by Alvin Ailey, saying dance is about “life, beliefs, thoughts, motivations, inspirations and all the basic elements in nature.” Her untitled work is a continuation of her piece performed in last year’s concert. Howell is exploring “the different ways the body can be shaped and manipulated,” while incorporating the elements of basic movement found in all forms of life.

Finally, senior DeLa Sweeney, after discovering dance only last year, said he is ready to “dedicate his life” to the art. His piece is an investigation of gravity—“the connection we have and the way we are drawn to other people and things”—using movement that both “embraces and fights the physical pull of gravity.”

Performances for “E” will be held April 27–29 at 8 p.m. and April 29 at 2 p.m., and will take place in the Schwartz Center’s Dance Studio. Tickets are $6; $4 for faculty, staff, students and discount groups.To order tickets from the Arts at Emory Box Office, call 404-727-5050 or go online to www.arts.emory.edu.

—Members of the Emory Dance Company contributed to this story.

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