TOGETHER AGAIN
Modern dance class creates unique video while miles apart
Jayme Host’s interest in finding a project to unite her East Carolina University dance students finishing the semester at home culminated in a four-minute video “Dancing Alone Together.”
Inspired by director Mitchell Rose’s dance film “Exquisite Corps,” Host assigned her intermediate modern technique class of 15 students to video themselves dancing for 15-30 seconds. In alphabetical order, each student emailed an original improvisation to the next dancer, who had to start in the exact position where the last dancer ended.
“I feed off of the energy of my classmates and I haven’t seen them dance in over a month now, so it was refreshing to see everyone next to me in the video,” said sophomore Claire Tart, a dance major with a concentration in performance and choreography from Clinton. “It made me feel like we were all back together again.”
Living rooms, bedrooms, carports and backyards became stages for students in sort of a dance riff off.
Students had two weeks to complete their part of the project, so it didn’t feel rushed, said Tart, who ended up filming three pieces, each with different movement, before choosing her favorite to submit.
“I’ve never been assigned something like this that connected me with all of my classmates who I miss dearly,” Tart said. “I would love to do another assignment like this in the future, and I’d encourage any dance group to try something like this especially during these times.”
Madeline Douglas, a sophomore dance major with a concentration in performance and choreography from Winston-Salem, added that waiting for the final product gave her something to look forward to as videos circulated among the class, she said.
“My inspiration came from missing my classmates,” she said. “I love getting to dance with them every day — it is not the same taking class without them. I was excited when Jayme sent this assignment because I knew it would be a way for all of us to engage with each other and, in a way, dance together again.”
“‘Dancing Alone Together’ is starting to be a commonly used phrase during this unprecedented time, so it made sense as a reflection of our current circumstances to use this as the informal title for our ECU piece,” said Host, professor and director of the School of Theatre and Dance, who is the final dancer in the collaboration. Former professional dancer and filmmaker Daniel Madoff edited the video for the class.
Madeline Douglas of Winston-Salem videoed her part for the piece in her backyard, inspired by the beauty of nature while missing her classmates. (Contributed photo by John Dixon)
In creative disciplines like dance, the pandemic has challenged students who are learning remotely.
“While an in-person class allows dancers to feed off the energy of their peers, online classes make this more difficult because a degree of the group spirit and enthusiasm is lost. That has definitely been a challenge for me, but everyone has to learn how to stay motivated and inspired throughout all of this,” Douglas said.
Tart said she has missed being surrounded by people with the same passion for dance.
“Space has been limited, and it’s definitely been frustrating,” she said. “Dance is so different from any other major. I’ve been craving tactile feedback, partnering phrases, and dancing as full out as I can in (Burnette) Studio Theatre.”
But Tart said being alone has given her time to focus on the future. She recently decided to add a business administration minor and has been working to learn more in that field.
“I have had the opportunity to work on my website and professional performance reel for an extended amount of time,” she said. “I have had the opportunity to take dance classes with some pretty amazing teachers and choreographers for free on the internet which otherwise would not be possible. I now have the time to sit down and think about my future and who I am as an artist without going 100 miles an hour.”
Douglas said the COVID-19 crisis is giving students time to research and learn in ways that they probably would not have in a normal semester.
“We can research cities or companies for our future, summer dance intensives and choreographers,” she said. “A lot of dancers and companies have started teaching live classes on social media, so COVID is opening up possibilities to take class from professionals around the globe. The dance community is finding new ways to support and encourage everyone.”
Host said she has been proud of faculty members for their response and creation of dynamic, engaging online curriculum for ECU theatre and dance students.
“We are working to find new ways to reach our students that continues their training, advancing their skills as they prepare for their professional careers,” Host said. “It is thrilling to see how we are moving forward with great strides advancing our students in this new landscape.”
Dance students look forward to a return to campus and annual performances like Spring Dance 2019. (Photo by Rhett Butler)