Performed: Spring 2024
Director: Amy Swanson
This production was the culmination of THEA 371: Contemporary Dance in Performance. Students in this class worked together and individually in the creation of their own choreography while immersed in faculty and guest artist work. They collaborated with students in MUSI 208: Jazz Improvisation, under the direction of Professor Brian Stark, and brought additional students into the fold for guest artist Esther Baker-Tarpaga’s interdisciplinary work.
The theme of DIS/UNITY was approached capaciously. It was presented across these works thematically, conceptually, and as a choreographic device. The artists considered the ruptures and continuities that characterize their relationships and lives in moments of transition. They questioned audience desires for cohesion and, in some cases, allow the seams to remain exposed. They merged disparate dance forms, artistic disciplines, and sounds, creating moments of harmony and those of dissonance.
The performance began at Taylor Lake near Willow Path followed by a procession to Brehmer Theater in the Dana Arts Center.
Guest Choreographer:
Esther Baker-Tarpaga (MA, MFA) organizes projects that are multidisciplinary, site-responsive, and collectively derived, aiming for an ethic of shared leadership and decolonizing practices. She is cofounder of Propelled Animals, an interdisciplinary arts and social justice collective and recipient of the MAP Grant, USAI Fund, and part of Trade School Philly Detroit. Esther has performed nationally and internationally in Philadelphia, New Jersey, Chicago, Milwaukee, Senegal, Burkina Faso, and Latvia, among other locations. She has taught at multiple universities and is the recipient of numerous awards, including the NY Live Arts Suitcase Fund. She was a US Cultural Envoy in Guinea, Botswana, and South Africa. Currently, Esther teaches at Temple University.
