The American Dancing Bodies Symposium performance held at the Dance Center on October 20, 2023, showcased a remarkably diverse set of dance groups. BraveSoul Movement, Ayodele Drum and Dance, Joffrey Academy Contemporary Trainee Program, Mordine and Company Legacy Project, and MO(VE)MENT Ensemble came together on one stage to tell a story of the very much connected community of dance that Chicago has become.
Starting with a performance by the MO(VE)MENT Ensemble, the audience is asked to react, to engage, and to participate in the performance. The audience cheers and engages with the dancers as three dancers improvise together on stage. Followed by BraveSoul Movement performing Be’Bout It (2017), choreographed by Daniel “BRAVEMONK” Haywood and Kelsa “K-Soul” Rieger-Haywood, the audience comes alive as dancers Lani Anderson, Orlando “Juice” De Leon Jr, William “Rebeltreble” Harris, Maggie Moffett, Taraja Mumbeja, Matthew “Blue” Papa, Dion Randle, Karina “Killarina” Rivera, and Wyatt “Willard” Sutter enter and leave the stage accompanied by dim, warm lighting and music compiled and edited by Daniel “BRAVEMONK” Haywood. The dancers moved freely, rooted in movement languages of Hip Hop, sometimes in choreographed unison and at other times improvised as their individuality shone through. The bodies moved with freedom and rhythm that invited you to want to join and engage along with the jazz-like music.
With smaller pieces in between by Mordine and Company Legacy project with dancers, Danielle Gilmore, Melissa Pillarella, these contemporary dances had moments of complete silence and then eventually were joined by some subtle music. Then came the Joffrey Academy Contemporary Trainee Program performing 1792 (2023) choreographed by Kaitlin Michael Bourgeois accompanied by Mozart’s Requiem in D Minor, K. 626. The dancers Elena Carr, Natalie Croney, Johana Garcia Morales, Ava Greenwaldt, Louisa Hall and Ana Velazquez filled the stage with graceful and dramatic movements, lifting and leaning on each other. The music and dance both seemed very angelic or religious-like; shifting the ambiance in the theatre completely.
The final performance by Ayodele Drum and Dance, choreographed by T.Ayo Alston, Barakissa Coulibaly and Imania Detry, again changed the environment when dancers and drummers, T. Ayo Alston, Victoria Boateng, Imania Detry, Patrice Gaitors, Contessa Green, India Ayo Hatfield, Carla Hayes, Anaya Iwamoye Jeffries, Joyce Lindsey, MareAnge Louis-Jean Mari, Omojolade Oladipupo, Amy Osterman, Hayah Folashade Rasul, Augusta Scescke and Victoria Winslow, brought energetic vitality onto the stage with vibrant rhythms and strong and spirited movements.
With small modern and contemporary pieces between longer ones, the audience received a wide range of performances, but what really made the night special was the change in audience participation that made the whole performance flow smoothly and fluctuate in such a way that kept everyone invested in each dance form. Starting off with the MO(VE)MENT Ensemble the audience was invited to cheer and participate which broke the barrier between stage and house that is usually held in theater etiquette. But, this barrier came back up during 1792. The couple of cheers that people made at the beginning of the piece were met with a palpable weighted silence from the rest of the audience. The final piece by Ayodele Drum and Dance came onto the stage vibrant and energetic. The audience once again broke the barrier and participated, cheering for dancers and drummers alike.
Holding ballet as a standard, most people have been conditioned to believe that dance performances are meant to be witnessed in a theatre, in silence, only clapping at the end of an act or performance and occasionally when a hard trick or move is done. However, this is definitely not the case for other dance techniques. Hip Hop and West African are social and community dances. Viewers are meant to interact because they’re as much part of the dance as the dancers themselves. Hip Hop is rooted in the idea of community. Originating in the predominantly African American, economically-depressed South Bronx section of New York City in the 1970s, it became a way to come together. T. Ayo, as the founder of Ayodele, strives to capture the strength and power of women and community. Ayodele’s West African dance and drum practice is rooted in joy but specifically joy in community and the company of others. As ballet started as an entertainment for the white high class in Europe, it’s considered a regal and luxurious performance. In no way am I saying that the dance form is not beautiful or playful, this is simply an invitation to recognize where this theater etiquette comes from, why we think we need to sit in silence, and why we can’t applaud something we find inspiring. Hip Hop and West African dance were and still are spaces for the global majority to have a voice in a society where their voices are silenced and overlooked. Whether sitting, standing or dancing, everyone is invited to always have a voice in Hip Hop and West African dance spaces, so why must we conform to ideas and customs built for people who are not oppressed?
The Symposium acted as a space for other voices, other cultures and dance forms that live in the shadow of ballet and the etiquette it brings with it. It was a great opportunity for anyone to witness more culture and communities within the dance world.
At first I thought it would have been nice to hear about each piece before it started, to have a clear distinction in between companies, but after reflecting upon it, it makes complete sense that there were no divisions or distinctions made. It made the idea of unity between these dance forms a lot clearer. The intention was to bring all kinds of dance forms together that usually are not seen in the same space, much less the same theatre or performance. It successfully showed the audience a variety of dances but it also showed us different environments and the possibility of these coexisting on one stage and theatre by highlighting their differences and similarities and embracing them in one space.
