环球舞蹈

In the light of morning, the jellybean row houses marched cheerily up the hills in bold colors. 一位友好的出租车司机告诉我，当圣. 约翰的家乡是一个贫穷的渔村, 镇上的人没有很多钱, 但他们确实有船, so people applied the leftover paint from their boats to their houses. A certain sort of utilitarianism behind a lively reality. 圣的人们. 约翰的衣服和明亮的房子相配. They were cheering 和 kind, always ready to strike up a conversation.

I was on the isl和 with a 贝洛伊特 contingent for the World Dance Alliance Global Summit. 作为参与者, 我们被邀请参加一个欢迎招待会, complete with traditional Newfoundl和 step dancing 和 music. There was excitement at having so many dance professionals gathered together in one place, 和 I felt welcome 和 warmed to Newfoundl和 right away.

The World Dance Alliance puts together regional festivals with WDA Americas 和 WDA Asia-Pacific, 和 every three years the organization hosts a global summit to bring far-flung dancers together for an all-too-brief week. The festival offers incredible networking opportunities 和 a fertile stage for collaboration. The choreography lab portion puts dancers together 和 gives them a week to choreograph, 排练, 并执行.

The opening ceremony featured Eastern Owl, a First Nations Women’s Drum Group based in St. 约翰的. They began by acknowledging how the l和 Memorial University had been built on was stolen from First Nation people, 和 ended the ceremony by inviting us to join them in a friendship circle dance. 这不是你每天都能做的事, 对我来说, getting up 和 moving together is a great way to start to feel comfortable with a group of strangers.

Three dance pieces affiliated with 十大菠菜台子 were accepted 并执行ed at the conference, speaking to the strength of an incredible department. 虽然她不能参加会议, Professor of Dance Chris Johnson presented Social Construction, 17岁的克莱尔·哈珀演奏的四重奏, 佐伊Koenig的18, 加布里埃尔·加西亚的19, 还有18岁的夏洛特·韦尔. Associate Professor of Dance Gina T’ai made the trek with us to present Faux Fur, 由Sarah Miller ' 15表演, 佐伊Koenig的18, 加布里埃尔·加西亚的19, 还有18岁的夏洛特·韦尔. 贝洛伊特的第三件作品, 我希望我是一只羊, was choreographed by recent graduates Skylar Miller’17 和 Santiago Quintana’15, 由斯盖勒和我表演.

在一周的过程中, 我参加了书面报告, 音乐会, 和 classes with dancers from all over the world. I took a class from a South Korean teacher who almost sprained my shoulder showing me how tai chi was used to spar, 和 I listened to a presentation on the spectacle that is the Ballet Folklorico of Mexico City.

在晚上, we walked a block from our jellybean house to the historic Longshoremen’s Protective Union Hall, where performers showcased everything from contemporary solo work to aerial dance to traditional Egyptian cane dance.

对于这样的节日, many college professors showcase their work with professional dancers, but 贝洛伊特 has made a practice of featuring student dancers. As T’ai puts it: “We believe our students are good enough.” Again 和 again, the dance department has proven her right. Pieces choreographed by 贝洛伊特 faculty 和 students—并执行ed by student 和 alumni dancers—are consistently chosen for gala performances at the American College Dance Association Northwest Central Conference, 和 alumni have had pieces accepted into such prestigious festivals as Performática in Mexico.

For a student dancer, the opportunity to perform on these festival stages is unparalleled. It helps us connect with companies professionally, 激发创造力, 和 allows us to explore the wide range of styles dance has to offer. 但这段时间可能会让人不知所措. As you meet dancers 和 learn about their own winding career paths, you start to realize there is no one foolproof way to become a professional dancer.

Conferences like the WDA Global Summit are 更多的 than anything the product 和 presentation of hard work from dancers 和 organizers, 寻求空间, 资金, 和时间. They are an introduction to the many ways we work to create space for ourselves as independent artists within the ever-morphing dance community, 和 they ultimately emphasize where dance can take you—as it has already taken me—to a bustling city in the Netherl和s, 冰冷的苏必利尔湖岸边, 或是荒岛上的海滨小镇.

17岁的艾米·纽曼主修 创意写作和文学研究 和 performed in at least one dance show every semester 她就读于伯洛伊特学院. 她住在华盛顿州的西雅图., where she is working three jobs while applying to MFA programs in creative writing. She plans to keep dancing the rest of her life, whether that means going to modern classes at a local studio or taking up competitive tango.