Over the summer, Senior Dance Major Renee Guittar worked with Dance Professor Melissa Rolnick on a dance solo coinciding with the artwork on display by Art Professor Kris Lowe. Guittar’s piece will be performed at 6:30 p.m. on October 4, 2011 in Hillstrom Museum and Lowe’s work will be on display until November 6, 2011 in Hillstrom Museum.

Kris Lowe’s art, “Comfort Me, Said He,” displays sheep, worked with chalk and charcoal as the medium, wandering around, “I’ve raised questions regarding the metaphorical potential of the domestic flock and the relationship between these animals and their keepers,” her website stated.

The artwork that Lowe has created has a feel of ambiguity to it’s meaning. “There is no defined narrative for the viewer but the images suggest, ever so softly, many possible outcomes,” Lowe’s website states. For Lowe the most rewarding part of her exhibit is to see her images that she created “in one space and open a dialogue/interface with the public.”

With the artwork as the metaphorical stage for Guittar’s solo, she and Professor Rolnick created the dance by “responding to the emotions we felt when viewing the work” said Senior Dance Major Renee Guittar. The piece entitled Excess was created to reach out and respond to Lowe’s work. The development of this solo was inspired by “thinking about the vulnerability and vastness displayed in ‘Comfort Me, Said He,’” Guittar said.

Rehearsed over a seven week period while meeting up to three times a week, Excess will prove to be “indicative of the Theatre and Dance Department’s commitment to student/faculty collaborative research and the Departments’ integral role in creating and presenting interdisciplinary work,” Dance Professor Melissa Rolnick said.

Reflecting on the most challenging and rewarding aspects of doing this piece Guittar found that they are intertwined. Not only is it a challenging piece to execute, “it is complicated and very emotional for me. That is what was rewarding about the process though,” Guittar said.

As a dancer Guittar has captivated her audience with her talent and her connection to dance. When choosing a student to work with, Rolnick looked to Renee because she “wanted to collaborate with a student who is not only talented but committed to the form and one that would bring an interesting perspective to the in-depth research process explored in the studio,” Rolnick said.

Amy Hassenstab (’11) had the opportunity to dance with and watch Guittar perform. “Not only is Renee a stunning performer, but she has developed an interest in choreography and setting work on other students over her years at Gustavus,”  Hassenstab said.