Variety Editor & Editor in Chief- Colleen Coleman & Grace LaTourelle
This weekend, The Gustavus Dance Company (GDC) will present Shift/Unravel/Root featuring student choreographers, guest artists Yukina Sato and Darrius Strong, Gustavus Professor Emerita Melissa C. Rolnick, and Continuing Assistant Professors in Dance Sarah Hauss and Jill Patterson. Shift/Unravel/Root explores shifting perspectives, old patterns, and finding new ways to root oneself in the present.
The concert will take place in the Rob and Judy Gardner Laboratory Theatre at 7:30 p.m. on March 27th and 28th, and at 2:00 p.m. on the 28th and 29th. Tickets can be purchased online at tickets.gustavus.edu, with Gustavus students and staff entitled to one free ticket each, with additional tickets available for purchase online.
Guest artist Yukina Sato is an Assistant Professor of Dance at Minnesota State University Mankato, and is nationally recognized for her work. Her creativity focuses on “making a third space, where two different entities meet in between,” according to her biography. Her artistic practice focuses on navigating cultural landscapes as someone who lives between two countries, and has performed many pieces on the theme locally and nationally.
Guest artist Darrius Strong is a Visiting Instructor at Macalester College, as well as faculty at the University of Minnesota, St. Paul Conservatory Performing Arts High School, and the TU Dance Center. According to his biography on the Macalester website, “his dance company, STRONGmovement uses the universal language of dance, blending styles such as hip-hop, ballet, modern, and west African to tell stories related to society and humanity.”
“Having guest artists create works for our dance company is important because it helps us experience different artistry, perspectives, and teaching methods,” Sophomore dancer Annalise Maiers said.
Practice for the performance began earlier this year with weekly rehearsal times. Work for the production, however, began earlier.
“One of the guest artist’s pieces, entitled ‘Long Story Short,’ was choreographed last March by Darrius Strong. It has been quite a process to continue working on that piece for a whole year before its debut, especially given our changes in the cast,” Maiers said.
The dancers have dedicated months in preparation for the production.
“We spend hours in the studio learning choreography, refining our dancing, and getting the dances ready for performance. It is so much fun to see our hard work pay off in the concert when we get to share our work with our family, friends, and everyone who comes to support us!” Junior dancer Betsy Anderson said.
Recently, members of the Gustavus Dance Company were recognized at the American Collegiate Dance Association Regional Conference. Hauss’ piece “Zoom In, Zoom Out” was selected for the highly esteemed gala presentation, which received the People’s Choice Award alongside student choreographed trio “aS wE arE” by three seniors in the GDC: Anderson, Lainey Hearne, and Marisa Schmidt. Gustavus was the only liberal arts college with two pieces recognized from the People’s Choice Awards.
Many dancers expressed their appreciation for the experience and the uniqueness of this production featuring over 30 dancers. While preparation for the show requires time and dedication, dancers explained that they took something away from the process.
“I learn so much from technique classes each semester, gain valuable experience through the rehearsal process with our faculty and guest artists, and get to express my own creative voice through choreography,” Anderson explained.
Many dances in the performance touch on and reflect deeper themes. According to Maiers, “Long Story Short” reflected Strong’s cultural experiences, “such as drug use, police brutality, and surveillance.”
“Learning from artists with different backgrounds helps us expand our dance training outside of typical collegiate forms that tend to be based in Western themes,” Maiers explained. “Bringing dances with social themes outside of our typical experience can also be valuable to share with the Gustavus community, as they can be unexpected coming from a small liberal arts college.”
Shift/Unravel/Root will feature many creative perspectives on life and artistry, from current and former Gustavus faculty, guest artists, and student choreographers. Students are encouraged to attend the production.
“Everyone should come to Shift/Unravel/Root to support Gustavus dancers and the Gustavus Dance department, and enjoy an exciting and diverse show! There’s so many awesome dancers and lots of incredible choreography being showcased – you don’t want to miss it!” Anderson said.