Combining dance, music and visual art isn't easy, especially when some of the music is improvised on the spot. The Tufts Dance Ensemble, the Tufts Composers and the Tufts New Music Ensemble, however, have succeeded in blending music, routine and improvisation for a unique and distinctive presentation.
This Sunday, termed "New Arts Festival Day," students will witness the unification of music, some of it composed for "The Center for Cosmic Energy," and dances choreographed on Tufts campus. Some of the dances will be paired with improvisational music pieces, meaning that they will literally be put together on stage for the first time in front of an audience.
From 'Cosmic' to kinetic energy
Associate Professor of Music John McDonald, also a composer and pianist, came up with the idea for the collaboration after his students composed music for the "Center for Cosmic Energy," an installment which was on display at the Tufts Art Gallery until Nov. 11.
"We made the music for the installation, and I thought it would be interesting if choreographed," Professor McDonald said, "The New Music Ensemble has been collaborating with The Dance Ensemble for several seasons, and when we added the improv, we were able to devise a program that kind of includes all arts departments."
After getting positive feedback from Lecturer Daniel McCusker and guest artist Kaela San Lee in the department of drama and dance, McDonald decided to go forward with the project.
"We've all definitely got the same energy - but not necessarily cosmic - and it makes sense to streamline it into one performance," McDonald said.
The recent construction of the Granoff Music Center further inspired the collaboration's conception. When the dance department and the music department collaborated in the past, they found it hard to perform their creations on the Tufts campus, because space was so limited. Now, with Distler Performance Hall, the two groups have space to perform together.
According to McDonald, the performance will use not only the stage in Distler, but its two balconies as well.
"We hope to create a sort of surround-sound effect," McDonald said.
The Tunes
Students who visited "The Center for Cosmic Energy" during its run on campus may already be familiar with some of the music to be performed on Sunday. Ethereal and haunting numbers like "*** (Three Asterisks)" by junior Iana Oulianova and "Verse Barely Audible through Double Doors" by McDonald, originally composed for the exhibition, will be reexamined through dance in a context outside the gallery.
Tufts New Music Ensemble, which is jointly directed by McDonald and Donald Berman, will be performing six out of the program's ten pieces. Described as an "avant-garde think tank" by the music department, the Ensemble will perform several improvisations.
"We don't even know what it's going to be like," McDonald said, "But conceptually, I think we're all okay. We all know how to play music."
According to graduate student of music and violinist Elliot Cless, despite the uncertainty of improvisation, written music is the most challenging, especially since dance will be incorporated into the performance.
"I think [the collaboration] is wonderful. It gives the musicians as a whole a lot of material. They have visual stimulus to go on in addition to their playing," Cless said.
An intermission feature will be the only part of the Festival without dance. The 40 minute program written by Ryan Vigil, who received his master's degree from Tufts in 2003, will include piano solos, a string trio and a piece for violin and piano.
"It's an interesting way to mix the Tufts Composers Series and the New Music Ensemble," McDonald said, "It really is more in the spirit of collaboration."
The Moves
Every fall, McCusker teaches the Dance Ensemble, a course that he said gives students "various ways to make dance material."
His teaching methods encourage students to choreograph parts of their own dance. For instance, he will occasionally give students a list of words based on a poem that they must use as inspiration. Another method is providing students with a series of photographs depicting people in different poses so students must work out transitions from one pose to another.
Sophomore Marissa D'Ambra has taken Dance Ensemble twice, and said that the first time she worked with McCusker, it "was a huge challenge coming from a traditional dance class." She feels that the hardest part of the class this semester is working with the music, especially the improv pieces.
"You have to be creative and open your mind," D'Ambra said, "Dancing to an improv piece means that you have to focus on the dance and other people. You have to fit your dance to the music. Luckily, the style of all the dance is very versatile and can go with a lot."
While some of the dancers are nervous about performing their choreography to improvised music, many feel that it will help communicate the message of their dance.
"It's going to be interesting, but I think that that kind of improv adds to the performance," dancer junior Ashley Kantor said, "This class and performance is a lot about the process, and watching that last little bit come together on stage really emphasizes how we create this dance."
The pieces choreographed by the Ensemble are distinct, but all have common elements. The dancers do not hold balances, but move fluidly and athletically throughout. They form a position and then break it, softening geometric poses and sharpening rounded ones. The dancers often separate into pairs or groups, or form pairs with individual dances. This process creates an impression of coincidence - it's as if the similar motions of the dancers are spontaneous, complementing the music's improvisational persuasion.
"I think one of the things we're trying to get across is that dance doesn't have to have a story or main character to be interesting. The movement in and of itself can be interesting," McCusker said, "We want to encourage people to look at things in a different way."
In addition to the dances that McCusker's students created, guest artist Kaela San Lee and her five other students have choreographed one section.
The Meaning of 'New Art'
The music and dance that will be performed at the festival probably won't appeal to hardcore traditionalists. This isn't Beethoven and Swan Lake, or even Led Zeppelin and the Macarena. Both musicians and dancers hope to express a sense of exploration and experimentation, of examining art and the creative process. McDonald and McCusker agree that the improvisation pieces add a unique element to the performance, and that, by watching both movement and melody come together on stage, the show's audience can learn something about expression.
"[We're trying to get across] a sense of experimentation, and that it's okay to go to an event where you're not sure what you're going to encounter," McDonald said.
"[We're trying to communicate] the value of exploring something. You don't always have to know where a creative process is leading you, but it's important to have that process," McCusker said.
Cless emphasizes the significance of cooperation in the Festival. "I think that the idea of collaboration is the biggest reason for the average Tufts student to see the performance. This is probably something that a lot of people are going to be unfamiliar with," Cless said, "I think anyone can take something away from it - that you personally can find something to grab onto."
The New Arts Festival will be held in Distler Performance Hall. It features two performances, one at 4 p.m. and one at 7 p.m., as well as an intermission piece at 5:30 p.m. The Festival is free and open to the public.
