Choreographer Trixi Anne Agiao tells it straight: the dance department’s upcoming show will spend a significant amount of time lingering in the abstract. But who would expect anything less from a school whose nonscience departments compensate by living and breathing everything experimental?
The dances in Spring Moves 2010 are based on topics like corporations, the natural cycles of life on Earth and one of the choreographers’ drawings of a little girl — launching the audience through a tumbling arrangement of conceptual spaces.
Agiao, a Warren College senior, said she is confident that all people will find enjoyment in the pieces, even if they can’t quite figure out what the hell is going on.
“I don’t want to say that our show is audience-friendly — because that implies that other shows aren’t — but it’s something that you’ll really enjoy,” Agiao said. “If you like dance, there’s something for you.”
Five undergraduate choreographers — Yvonne Ackerman, Michelle Anthony, Morgan McGreevey, Arthur Huang and Agiao — are showcasing their original work from April 29 to May 1 at the Molli & Arthur Wagner Dance Building, Studio III.
Set to a score that morphs from the calming clinks of broken piano chords to a lively string ensemble, Agiao’s piece depicts a character who finds she needs human support to overcome life’s obstacles.
“I watch this person grow up and watch them go through hard times,” Agiao said. “Somewhere along the way, they have to face themselves, get over it and snap themselves back into life. The main character ignores the other dancers on stage, gets caught up in emotion and eventually decides that ‘I can’t do this anymore, I need to come back to these people around me.’”
The number is filled with images of nature — both still and moving — including the metamorphosis of a caterpillar into a butterfly. Agiao said she draws parallels between the character she created and herself.
“As dancers, the way we work through things is by dancing,” she said. “In my life, there are three things: friends, family and dance.”
Her handpicked cast of 16 helps carry out the journey, which Agiao said she has been planning since the end of the 2008-09 academic year. Watching her brainchild come together has been a rewarding experience for the senior, who previously only choreographed for one other major production.
“It’s always fun and exciting when things get finished,” Agiao said. “The dancers are excited, too.”
Although she said the show is best described as a contemporary dance performance, Agiao said it often transcends the tranquility of the genre.
“I have dancers in my piece that can fly off the floor,” she said.
Of the five pieces, only Anthony’s and Ackerman’s will feature professional solos — the other three use solely undergraduate dance students.
“Expect a show that is short and sweet,” Agiao said. “It will feel like no time has gone by. Expect to see a lot of amazing dances and amazing images. There’s such a range of everything.”
