My Dance Experiences

Nick Brooke (in the orange) and I are dancing in Hannah Laga-Abraham's fall 2021 work.
Photo Credits: Elisabeth Waller Photography

History & Thoughts

I began dancing my first semester at Middlebury. I took the Introduction to Dance class offered by the department and taught by Professor Lida Winfield; I realized immediately how close and welcoming the dance community truly is, and fell in love with the art as well as the people.

I particularly enjoy improvising in the space with other individuals. Improvisation is complex (and thus infinitely interesting) because it requires an incredibly complex balance between listening and acting, watching and jumping in, taking a step back while being fully present and engaged. Being receptive, opening your body's spatial senses and giving extreme attention to detail to what's going on in the room, all the while dancing and moving yourself, can be pretty tough to do right. Additionally, when you're improvising with others, you have to change your perspective from the self to the collective: it's not all about you and how well you can point your toe. Rather, it's about continuously asking yourself the question: what does this dance need right now? What is lacking? What is present? Is it getting boring and thus time to change it up? How can what this person is doing be played with, accentuated or supported? Should something new be initiated or introduced? At the core, I see dance improvisation as nothing more than play, which has all kinds of relationship & dynamics involved and requires some pretty decent interpersonal skills! I aim to never stop dancing and keep it up, even after college.

Below are a series of works I've danced in and/or choreographed (see "In Plain Sight"). I hope you enjoy reading about this and, if this is of interest to you, watch them by clicking on the VOD link (when available). I've listed all the folks I can recall who are related to the dance pieces, however there are many individuals not mentioned who've contributed to these works, whether in the form of simple feedback or more extensive collaboration. Please enjoy!

Fall 2019 - "In Plain Sight" by John Cambefort - VOD

“In Plain Sight” was my first full-length, semester-long production. It explores a variety of human interactions in public and private spaces, as dancers recognize one another (or choose not to). With intimate gaze and powerful focus (I am extremely interested in what can be communicated simply using our eyes -- turns out, a whole lot!), the performers played and improvised creatively, displaying group dynamics and their own individual styles. This piece was unbelievably fun to create and dance. If I've learned anything in my time in the dance department here at Middlebury, it's that the creative process itself is as much fun and juicy as the performance. My mentor and Professor Laurel Jenkins advised the piece and taught the course which framed its production.
Choreography: John Cambefort
Dance Cast: Martin Troška, kOle Lekhutle and John Cambefort
Costume Design: Jessica (Zhanqi) Hong and Brigid Pittman
Lighting Design: Marquise Adeleye
Sound & Music: Paris metro sounds recorded by John Cambefort and edited by Wheeler Jarvis; “I Wish I Could Sleep” by Nymano

Spring 2018 - "House of God" by Deborah Leedy - VOD

"House of God" was one of my first real introductions to group score-work. We learned to feel one another's movement quality and explored synchronicity, as shown in the first score in which we pause and resume collectively. As my dance professors would say, this type of task is one that requires "having eyes on the back of your head" and feeling out through your back (which, believe it or not, is certainly possible!). At the time, Deborah was interested in examining the different ways in which faith can move our bodies. While I do not currently consider myself an active believer of any specific branch of faith, I was raised a catholic (my parents would occasionally take me and my siblings to church on Sundays and for Christmas, and sought to teach us a few of the religion's values, which I am grateful for). During my time at Middlebury, I have found that faith can be expressed in many different ways. For myself, faith comes up in the acts we do everyday that have nothing to do with religion, and yet have everything to do with my value system and defining who I want to be. In any case, the piece is loosely based on a travelling narrative from the Book of Job.
Choreography: Deborah Leedy
Dance Cast: Deborah Leedy, Lucy Grinnan, Luna Shen, Emma Lodge, Joanna Balla and John Cambefort
Lighting Design: Unknown/can't recall.
Sound & Music: Deborah Leedy