Quindecim

Issue date: 2/9/05 Section: Arts and Entertainment

Media Credit: Alexis Iammarino Max Weselcouch ´05 combines math and dance in Outbox.

Media Credit: Alexis Iammarino Shana O´Brien ´05 choreographed two selections for the Outbox concert.

Media Credit: Alexis Iammarino Weselcouch´s second piece, Only Buy a Book for the Way It Looks, on the structure of a novel.

This weekend, Goucher seniors Max Weselcouch and Shana O'Brien will present a performance of original choreography. The concert includes six works ranging in styles from classical ballet to experimental post-modern.

Weselcouch and O'Brien teamed up last semester after realizing that there was only one weekend still available on the schedule of senior dance concerts. Both were happy with the results.

"It worked out because we both have quirky styles," O'Brien said.

Deciding a theme was almost as easy as choosing the date. What started as a friend's photography project and an experimental dance session with a few boxes, the concept for Outbox emerged.

"We liked the strong shadows and the use of boxes in Alexis's [Iammarino] photography project, so Linda [McDevitt] brought in some boxes for us to play around with and we came up with the idea for Outbox," Weselcouch said.

The feature performance of the evening titled Outbox, choreographed by O'Brien, Weselcouch, and Goucher dance instructor Linda McDevitt. The performance features the use of boxes, decorated by Art major Alexis Iammarino, as central props in the choreography. Performed to a string quartet adaptation of Jimi Hendrix's "Purple Haze," this duet reflects the meshing of three different styles of choreography.

"We don't often get the opportunity to collaborate with professors, so this was a great experience," Weselcouch said.

Weselcouch also choreographed two pieces for this concert. With a double major in Math and Dance, she created The Fundamental Theorem around principles of calculus.

"I wanted to find a way to fuse the two," Weselcouch said. "I tried to focus initially on how to extract movements directly from the graphs, without a real regard for how they would look. Once they were set, however, I then went back and tweaked things to make a coherent dance."

Her choreography takes a unique approach in utilizing the performance space in Todd Dance Studio. Instead of staying within the main stage, her dancers climb on the ledges and windows in the studio. The off-the-wall choreography combined with Goucher Music major Alfred Souza's electronic score, gives this piece a post-modern feel.

Weselcouch based her second piece, Only Buy a Book for the Way It Looks, on the structure of a novel. It begins with the introduction of characters, follows them as their actions grow more complicated, reaches a climax, and then winds down to a conclusion.

Divine Comedy, a Scottish rock band, provides the soundtrack with "The Booklovers." The lyrics include names and information about famous authors, such as F. Scott Fitzgerald and Jack Kerouac. To put her own spin on it, Weselcouch instructed her dancers to read quotes from the different authors during the piece.

O'Brien also choreographed two selections for the concert. Her modern piece, titled Moonflowers, focuses on the concept of those who do not fit in with the majority and how this relates to moonflowers.

"Moonflowers are closed and ugly during the day, but bloom beautifully at night," O'Brien said. "This dance is based on misfits or witches, who come into their own at night. It's a nice metaphor about people who are not comfortable in society, but when they get out on their own, they're awesome."

The musical selection by Edgar Meyer, Mark O'Conner and Yo-Yo Ma shapes the movement and matches the untamed and defiant quality of the choreography.

To break the monotony of modern pieces and to show that ballet can be fun, O'Brien choreographed a classical ballet titled Pastoral Suite.

"I often find ballet boring to watch, so I wanted to make one that stood out," O'Brien said.

With a folk-inspired musical selection by Edvard Grieg, this piece represents the beauty of Grieg's Norwegian countryside and the peasants that reside there.

As of press time, O'Brien hoped to include a small solo performance, titled Ava Maria, choreographed by Goucher dance instructor and well-known choreographer, Stephanie Powell. All O'Brien knows about the piece is that it will be "dramatic and short." She will begin rehearsing a few days before the first performance.

Dancers participating in this concert include Lynne Bellinger, Dana Byers, Sarah Capua, Naomi Chamblin, Sarah Gelband, Charles Gushue, Megan Hartnett, Alexis Iammarino, Caitlin Kolb, Lauren Latouche, Stephanie Lawson, Megan Lundeberg, Jennifer Lustig, Michelle Lynch, Alexandra Orme, Claudia Van Poperingen, Lindsey Puclowski, Amanda Pugh, Caitlin Quinn, Erin Reid, Amy Ruggiero, Leah Rybolt, Lindsay Stegeman, Brittany Wagner, Marilyn Yorgey, Asya Zlatina.

"I think it'll be an accessible concert, there's a lot of variety in the works," Weselcouch said. "There's something for everyone to enjoy and relate to."

"After seeing our concert, I hope other students' understanding of the dance department broadens," O'Brien said.

Thanks to funding by SGA, O'Brien and Weselcouch will showcase their choreography in South Carolina at the American Dance Festival in March. Weselcouch's Only Buy a Book for the Way it Looks will be performed at the informal showing and O'Brien's Pastoral Suite will be adjudicated for the chance to appear at the formal showing later that weekend. If selected, O'Brien has the potential to advance to the national dance festival later this year.

See Outbox this weekend on Friday, Feb. 11 at 8 p.m., Saturday at 8 p.m., and Sunday at 3 p.m. in the Todd Dance Studio. Tickets are $7 general admission and $5 for students.

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