photo by Ty Smith
Carson Michura, a junior dance major, rehearses “Paracosm” a ballet choreographed by junior Maggie Ellington on Monday in the George Rowland White dance studio. The performances for the Student Choreography Project can be seen in a live stream on the Pittsburgh Playhouse website on Oct. 4 at 2 p.m. and 8 p.m.
No two people will have identical experiences when they watch the live stream of the Student Choreography Project on Saturday.
Beginning Friday, Oct. 3 and running until Sunday, Oct. 5, the Student Choreography Project will be showing at the George Rowland White (GRW) Performance Center and will feature original choreographies from over two dozen students.
On Saturday, Oct. 4, the performances will be streamed live on pittsburghplayhouse.com. The University partnered with C360 Technologies, giving viewers the ability to completely control the camera angle while watching the wide variety of dance pieces.
“[The pieces] range from a jazz inspired, more commercial and urban kind of dance to something that’s deeply introspective and modern dance based,” Ruben Graciani, the department chair and associate professor in the Conservatory of Performing Arts (COPA) said in an interview last Wednesday.
Amanda Belfiore’s work, titled “Who Are You Wearing,” is a dance that adheres to that commercial jazz style, something she feels is lacking in a lot of dance productions.
“I kind of wanted to bring that back because I feel like a lot of the dance shows lack fun pieces that keep energy high,” Belfiore, a senior dance major, said in a telephone interview on Sunday.
“Who Are You Wearing” was created in memory of Joan Rivers, who recently passed away. Rivers was a controversial comedian who, throughout her 55-year career, was nominated for a Grammy, a Tony, and multiple Daytime Emmy Awards, winning once for Outstanding Talk Show Host in 1990.
“Joan Rivers was really the inspiration because I wanted to play with music that I feel fit into what she’s about,” Belfiore said.
One of the three songs used in the piece is “Fashionista” by Jimmy James. The lyrics use the names of various clothing brands and is “mocking super models,” according to Belfiore.
Adrianna Amodei, a junior dance major, created a routine that is more in a modern style of dance, “1911.”
Amodei said the piece is based upon the events of the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory fire that occurred in New York City in on March 25, 1911. The blaze was one of the deadliest industrial disasters that ever occurred in the United States, resulting in the death of 123 women.
“It’s an ode to women and their courage and hard work during the time,” Amodei said in a telephone interview Sunday.
A choreography with a more surreal subject matter is “Paracosm” created by Maggie Ellington. Paracosm is a word which refers to an imaginary world created in a person’s mind.
“I was thinking about how it would be to be stuck in your own mind and not be able to come back to reality,” Ellington, a junior dance major, said in a telephone interview Sunday. “Sometimes we all get that way. You want to come back down to earth but you can’t.
Sarah Hammond, a junior dance major, drew upon her experiences at Point Park to put her piece “Habit” together. Hammond said it is about a group of individuals whose separate identities are shaped by the setting they are in.
“My particular inspiration comes from my experience at Point Park and how I’ve interacted with people in this setting, how it has changed throughout the years and how it’s different from other setting I’ve interacted with people in,” Hammond said.
The performances for this year’s shows have been split into two separate programs, Program A and Program B. Program A will show at 8 p.m. on Friday, Oct. 3 and will have a Saturday matinee at 2 p.m. Program B goes on Saturday at 8 p.m. and will have a Sunday matinee, also at 2 p.m.
Tickets to the Student Choreography Project are available by calling the Pittsburgh Playhouse box office or online. Tickets are $18-$20. Student tickets are discounted to $7-$8.
