Guest Artist Melanie George Headlines 'In Motion' Dance Concert
Seven world-premiere dance works feature explorations of form and theme from acclaimed faculty and guest choreographers. 'In Motion' runs March 30 – April 1
By: Lauren Koranda '23 Thursday, March 16, 2023 04:52 PM
Photos from 'In Motion' 2022, by Marco CalderonThe Muhlenberg College Dance Program will present seven world-premiere dance pieces in its annual faculty and guest artist-choreographed concert, In Motion, March 30 – April 1. Jazz choreographer and scholar Melanie George headlines the concert.
All seven choreographers are non-male identifying — a Muhlenberg first for the faculty-choreographed concert. Co-artistic directors Robyn Watson and Heidi Cruz-Austin see this as just one of the qualities that set In Motion ’23 apart.
"I think every year is different because even returning choreographers are not coming in with the same ideas," Watson says. "They're coming in with new approaches and new thoughts and the students get to experience those thoughts."
The artistic directors say they were driven by two goals in particular in their search for a guest choreographer for this year's concert: find someone who brought something new to the table, and find someone as committed as they are to anti-racist practices in their artistry. Melanie George fit the bill.
"We felt that Melanie was a good artist to present that," Watson says, "both as a practitioner and as a choreographer."
The founder and director of the Jazz Is… Dance Project and director of artist initiatives at Jacob’s Pillow, George brought a unique approach to jazz practices for the Muhlenberg dancers in her piece.
"For me, it was about giving them an experience with my particular approach to jazz dance," she says, "which is a rooted Black American approach, because jazz is a rooted Black American art form."
George and the dancers produced what she calls a "jazz sampler," featuring four stylistically distinct sections within the piece.
"I hope their experience with me has challenged the dancers in some really positive ways," she says.
The concert will also premiere work by renowned Muhlenberg faculty members, including program chair Karen Dearborn. Dearborn says the development of her ballet piece "Anchors in Loss" began with a close examination of the act of tying on pointe shoes — wrapping, winding, crossing, tying knots and securing — followed by creating full-body movement and partnering from these actions.
"The work conjures memories of friendship, love and loss through fleeting encounters that provide anchors to our lives," she says.
Natalie Gotter’s modern piece challenged the dancers to examine how we respond when safety is on the line. She says fight-or-flight reactions are integral to the movement quality of the piece.
"My work is engaging with questions of safety and the presentation of the self," she says, "what we show in a situation that feels threatening, vs. what we’re actually experiencing — heart thumping in your ears, deciding when and whom to trust."
Robyn Watson’s tap piece addresses a theme that she calls "an odd choice" for the genre: grief.
"It's questioning how and if we treat grief and lament in a necessary, practical and hopeful way," she says.
Heidi Cruz-Austin drew inspiration from the ocean for her ballet piece, the title of which is just the greek letter lambda, which in physics represents wavelength.
"I started to think about the ways that life mirrors the ebb and flow of the ocean through the cycles of joy and challenges we face," she says, "and the resiliency and self-healing abilities we have."
Cruz-Austin worked with the dancers to push beyond the historically regimented aesthetics of ballet in her piece, which features live piano accompaniment by Holly Roadfeldt.
"Already I see the dancers taking the piece to a level that I never imagined or envisioned it could be," she says. "I’m always on the edge of my seat watching it, because I really don’t know what new thing I will see."
Visiting faculty members Elizabeth Bergman and Anito Gavino both make their Muhlenberg choreographic debuts in this concert.
Bergman says the process for her piece, "Undertow," was "highly collaborative," with her cast of 15 dancers working together to choreograph movement and weight-bearing lifts that require group coordination — set to original music composed by Clark Baechle.
Gavino has created a piece inspired by communal spaces of celebration, from her indigenous Filipino festival of Dinagyang to Rio’s Carnival, the ballroom and club scenes, and beyond.
"In a way, I am creating my own experimental documentary with live components in the shape of dance," Gavino says.
A self-described social justice-maker, Gavino collaborated with the dancers in a research-driven process that centered "stories of resistance and vigilance of people from the African Diaspora." They sought to answer the question, "How can dance be a form of social change and activism?"
Through their work as artistic directors, Cruz-Austin and Watson say they are committed to curating high-caliber experiences for the dancers beyond their performances onstage.
"What keeps bringing the dancers back to wanting to be in In Motion is the fact that they're getting to work with their professors that they normally take class with in a more creative capacity," Cruz-Austin says.
Watson says the biggest takeaway for the concert’s dancers will come from the process, rather than the product.
"They'll understand that every choreographer's process is different," she says. "But honoring each process is worth it because that's where all the magic happens."
In Motion runs March 30 – April 1 in the Empie Theatre, Baker Center for the Arts, Muhlenberg College. Performances are Thursday and Friday at 8 p.m., and Saturday at 2 and 8 p.m. Tickets are $15 for adults, $8 for patrons 18 and under, and $8 for students, faculty, and staff of all LVAIC colleges. Tickets and information are available at 484-664-3333 or muhlenberg.edu/seeashow.
About the Muhlenberg College Theatre & Dance Department
Muhlenberg offers Bachelor of Arts degrees in theatre and dance. The Princeton Review ranked Muhlenberg’s theatre program in the top twelve in the nation for eight years in a row, and Fiske Guide to Colleges lists both the theatre and dance programs among the top small college programs in the United States. Muhlenberg is one of only eight colleges to be listed in Fiske for both theatre and dance.
About Muhlenberg College
Founded in 1848, Muhlenberg is a highly selective, private liberal arts college offering baccalaureate and graduate programs. With an enrollment of nearly 2,000 students, Muhlenberg College is dedicated to shaping creative, compassionate, collaborative leaders through rigorous academic programs in the arts, humanities, natural sciences and social sciences; selected preprofessional programs, including accounting, business, education and public health; and progressive workforce-focused post-baccalaureate certificates and master’s degrees. Located in Allentown, Pennsylvania, approximately 90 miles west of New York City, Muhlenberg is a member of the Centennial Conference, competing in 23 varsity sports. Muhlenberg is affiliated with the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America.
