Alternate Spaces – Compositional Study

For this most recent comp study, we were assigned to create a site-specific work chosen anywhere on the Ohio State University’s campus.

It took a little exploring until I finally chose my location – a tiny hallway in the basement of the Kuhn Honors and Scholars House. The hallway’s characteristics lead to very confined movement, use of its walls as surfaces to work on, and a narrative to my short study. I played off of those ideas when choreographing and chose to work with the story of a closed door. The hallway had two doors at its ends: one open and one closed; my study was centered around the closed door and not being able to get through it. This was interpreted in my dance through physically trying to open the door and being unsuccessful, visibly giving up after trying, and struggle-like movement. I find that my study has a rather sad tone, and it is one that the hallway conveyed to me the first time being in it.

For the second part of our study, we were instructed to take the site-specific piece we had choreographed and restage it as a studio work. It would of been extremely hard for me to perform the same piece I did in the hallway; I had dependency on it for my movement. Instead, I took the themes that I had and choreographed a new piece. I gave myself a path to dance on – as if I were the hallway and my movement were still restricted by its limited space. I kept the theme of tension and giving up – like trying to open a door, only to find that it is locked. I also had the theme of focus on my hands and feet, for my hands could not open the door, and my feet could not enter. Using these themes, I believe I have created a piece complimentary to my first work.