Dance as Cultural Art

 

Physical Movement: Cultural Art

Dance, unlike other cultural art forms does not leave behind clearly identifiable artifacts.  Unlike clothing or jewelry, the evolution cannot always be easily traced. Even so, dance as art has continues to evolve.  The 9000-year-old dancing images discovered in India’s Bhimbetka Rock Shelters paintings or the Egyptian tomb paintings of dancers dating back to 3300 B.C., tell us that this has long been an important form of expression.

What can such physical movements tell us?

Waiting in Seoul Walking in Tokyo

According to Sonoma State University Department of Theatre Arts & Dance, Jennifer Meek Satoh, co-director of the upcoming Waiting in Seoul Walking in Tokyo spring dance concert can show us emotions that go beyond the limits of words and intellectual comprehension.

“Dance allows people to feel more viscerally rather than just hearing words and having their brain interpret it in certain ways.” It can offer those who see it an opportunity to experience the complexity of emotions the dancer portrays.

Waiting in Seoul Walking in Tokyo is an example of that.  This collaborative, contemporary dance piece, for example, is designed to take audiences on a journey through the streets of Seoul, Tokyo and San Francisco with movement, imagery, cityscape sounds and original music.

Satoh who co-directs and co-choreographs this performance with Christine Cali explained that in this production, some of the piece’s carefully choreographed dance movements suggest the sense of awkwardness or hesitancy that a foreigner may feel in a new country. In this case, it is the experience of a traveler from Seoul on the streets of San Francisco. Satoh suggests that such moves can reveal the ways in which someone might hold back to make sure others are not offended.

Perhaps such subtleties made visual can help us understand what ‘strangers”, including immigrants, face. Such an experience could inform us that beneath cultural differences we are all human. Emotions are a shared experience that can take us beyond pre-set attitudes and beliefs.

Details 

Here are some details about this dance concert which is a collaboration with Global Dance Stamp:

Location: Sonoma State University, Evert B. Person Theatre, 1801 E. Cotati Ave., Rohnert Park, CA 94928.

Run Dates: April 21-29, 2017. Opening performance includes a post-show discussion.
April 27 is "Friends and Family Night”: Special $5 rate for SSU faculty, staff, alumni and students; $5 for general, seniors and visiting students.
Tickets: $15-$17 plus parking fee.

More

Happily Ever After?

Happily Ever After

Beyond the Fairytales 

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Fairytales are filled with promise and romantic love that conquers all. At least it does at the end of most fairytales. But have you ever wondered what happens after “...They lived happily ever after”? 

In today’s world, only the magic of theatre seems a fitting ‘stage’,  so to speak, to answer this question. Which it does so eloquently and entertainingly in the musical Into the Woods. This play weaves together the plots of several well-known fairytales. Think Little Red Riding Hood, Jack and the Beanstalk, Rapunzel and Cinderella and you get the idea.

These characters lament the absence of their hearts’ desires. Ironically, when those desires are met the story goes awry. 

With music and lyrics by Stephen Sondheim and book by James Lapine, this theatrical wonderland comes to life when Sonoma State University Department of Music and Department of Theatre Arts & Dance bring it to life February 4 through February 14. The show will be held at the Evert B. Person Theatre, 1801 E. Cotati Ave., Rohnert Park, CA 94928.

This modern retelling of a play filled with wishes, curses and consequences reveals the reality of enchantment sought through selfish means. Directed by Marty Pistone this production features a cast of 20 and 14-piece orchestra conducted by Grammy nominated Lynne Morrow.

To help bring this musical morality tale to life, Sonoma State University student designers created more than 200 individual costume pieces and special effects for set and lighting.

Into the Woods first debuted in 1986 at San Diego at the Old Globe Theatre and premiered on Broadway where it won several Tony Awards, including Best Score, Best Book, and Best Actress in a Musical (Joanna Gleason), in a year dominated by The Phantom of the Opera (1988).

No small feat under any circumstances, especially when dealing with fractured fairytales that include witches, royal balls, hungry wolves and magic beans.

To find out if they do live happily ever after: 

February 4 to February 14, 2016
7:30 p.m. Thursday, February. 4; Friday, February 5; Saturday, February 6
5 p.m. Sunday, February. 7 (Post show discussion)
10 a.m. Wednesday, February 10 (School matinee featuring piano only)
7:30 p.m. Thursday, February 11 ($5 Friends & Family Night)
7:30 p.m. Friday, February 12 and Saturday, February 13
2 p.m. Sunday, February 14

Tickets: $5-$17 (SSU students free with ID). Parking $5.
Call 707-664-4246 or click here.

Related Information:
Global Folklore