Rachel Allen
rallen19@uwyo.edu
Dec. 8, choreographers Jenifer Deckert, Margaret Wilson and Aaron Wood opened their collaborative dance show, “Passage,” at the Buchanan Center for the Performing Arts.
The show consisted of three segments, each choreographed by one of the three directors. The first section, “Arctic Dreams,” was the creation of Margaret Wilson. Aaron Wood created the second piece, “Echoing Terrains of Solitude,” and the show closed with Jennifer Deckert’s, “Disguised in Silence.”
The concert as a whole was a visual and auditory masterpiece, combining the artistice visions of Wood, Wilson, Deckert, the physical finesse of the dancers and the musical talents of Sean Warren Stone, a University of Wyoming faculty member.
When discussing the creative process of bringing “Passage” to the stage, Deckert said, “We have been in rehearsal for the show since September, however the creative process began last spring.”
“Following the success of the show Inside/Out and our collaboration on that project, Aaron, Margaret and myself set out to create another evening long piece,” Deckert said. “This time with similar inspiration, but working separately and fusing the final product.”
“The inspiration for ‘Arctic Dreams’ came from images of Greenland and the poetry of Gretel Ehrlich,” Wilson said about her piece.
Ehrlich, an American novelist, essayist and poet, has published several books, including a collection of essays on rural life in Wyoming, where she lives on a ranch.
“We drew our inspiration from the landscape of Wyoming and the ways in which that landscape can shape and mold not only the terrain but the people and energy within the space,” Deckert said.
“Margaret always told us to be full in our movements and to feel like we were completely alone and isolated as if in the Arctic,” Rachael Greenwell, junior studying dance science and a performer, said. “Our movements had to fill the entire stage in our minds because we were alone out there.”
In the “Arctic Dreams” segment of the concert, several dancers were suspended off the stage, dancing in mid air. The choreography explored what dancers are capable of when freed from the limitations of gravity and ground.
“I do a duet with Haley Nigro as we are suspended in the air by a rope and our harnesses,” Greenwell said. “It was difficult for us to time our movements accordingly to match each other and to also relax in the movement. In the beginning, we were a little stiff as we tried to maintain our balance on the rope and find out bearings. Now that we are at performance time, we move as one.”
Accompanied by a soundscape of shifting and cracking ice, it seemed as though the dancers were floating underwater, beneath the surface of a frozen lake. The choreography was also accompanied by projected visuals of ice and bubbles in deep water.
“I think for me the greatest challenge was creating the soundscape to fully capture the emotional journey,” Deckert said. “I spent several weeks of rehearsal changing music every night and playing to find the perfect integration of sound, silence and movement.”
“We were told to pretend like we were completely isolated on stage,” Greenwell said. “This helps immensely for me to think about while I’m dancing because I can make the movement much larger and extend my focus out even past the audience.”
The cohesiveness of the choreographers, the dancers and the technical crew was evident in the performance.
“One of the best parts of this project has been the dancers and the collaborative process they have so willingly dedicated themselves to,” Deckert said.
“The dancers have embraced the work the choreographers have set on them- brilliantly!” Wilson said.
“I would say that I have learned to bond with my fellow cast members and to feel them on stage without actually being with them in mind,” Greenwell said. “I also have learned how to make my dancing larger while calming my energy down to have a better quality.”
“The dancers played a major role in creating and molding the choreography. They have permission to make choices within the piece and often surprise me with the beauty and sophistication of those choices,” Deckert said. “We could not have done this project without their amazing commitment to this process.”
