This weekend the Hillsdale College Tower Dancers will perform their annual dance concert. The performance has a Grecian theme — congruent with the theatre department’s focus this year.
“I really like having an overall theme,” sophomore and Tower Dancer Maran McLeod said. “It’s neat to have unity with the theater department. It helps the audience to focus in on the re-occurring themes.”
Sophomore Emma Langston, one of the dancers, said she predicts both students and faculty will connect with the concert theme.
“It obviously relates to our studies here at Hillsdale,” she said. “Some of it is a literal interpretation, and some of it is very thematic. It could be anything from relating to something in Greek culture like the Olympics, to the general virtues and vices of Greek mythology. I think people will find it not only visually appealing, but it captures the mind as well.”
Visiting Assistant Professor of Dance Corinne Imberski and Lecturer Holly Hobbs both advise and instruct the Tower Dancers. Imberski said that the dances, though inspired by Greek myths and subject matter, are not going to be danced in the style of the ancient Greeks.
“Despite all the images of dancing figures found in the visual art of ancient Greece, we don’t really know how they danced; that is, how all the different poses fit together to create continuous movement,” she said. “It’s a modern sensibility, echoing the timelessness of Greek themes. There is a wide variety of music with many different styles, ranging from the opera music of Christoph Gluck and Igor Stravinsky, to Philip Glass and some other more contemporary composers.”
The music varies greatly throughout the performance. Each piece has a different ambience, and multiple genres are represented.
There are three student choreographers for this year’s performance: seniors Elizabeth Hamilton, Dan Thelen, and Marianna Ernst. Hamilton said she is also dancing in two separate pieces — one classical and one about the Homeric tale of Penelope and Odysseus.
“In the piece about Penelope, the music really goes along with the story,” she said. “The opening is sad because Odysseus is leaving Penelope. Then, with the handmaidens, the music is a bit wilder than the other parts.”
Thelen said he is choreographing a piece called “Not Set in Stone” with four dancers in it.
“It explores the athleticism of Ancient Greek athletes as portrayed in art,” he said. “The music for my piece is a cello instrumental by Zöe Keating. The tone of the music is hopeful and uplifting.”
Ernst’s piece is about Dionysus.
“The music is a sort of African and Irish fusion,” McLeod said. “There’s a call and response part in the music. There’s also a sort of heart-beat feel. The song for Penelope has three sections. The music has an undercurrent of clicking, like the shuttle on the loom as Penelope weaves during the day and then undoes the weaving at night. It’s very eerie because the handmaidens are the passive helpers of a crime, allowing the house to fall apart.”
Because many of the dancers have been trained primarily in classical ballet, it can be an adjustment for some to switch to modern dance.
“It took me awhile to get used to modern dance,” McLeod said. “It’s different than what I’m used to, but it has a beauty of its own. Modern dance has a lot to do with the filling of space. It’s not as much about technique, but about being aware of the space around you and being able to fill it.”
The group has spent a huge amount of time preparing for the three concerts this weekend.
“Each of the dances are original works and will be premiered this weekend,” Imberski said. “The choreographers have been working with the students since September–creating choreography and refining the execution of it at each rehearsal. It’s very time-intensive for both the choreographers and the dancers.”
Despite the time commitment, the dancers said that they relish the opportunity to dance.
“The best part for me is choreographing a piece,” said Hamilton. “It’s so cool to see an idea that is in your mind come to fruition. It’s really neat to have freshmen, seniors, and people from all aspects of campus dancing together. Because it’s modern dance, it’s not really expected. Going to Hillsdale people expect to see classical ballet or something, then they’re taken aback.”
Performances will be held on Feb. 1 and 2 at 8 p.m., and Feb. 3 at 2 p.m.
atindall@hillsdale.edu
