April 2021

Dance is more than choreographed steps on a stage.

It’s a performance created to encourage people to take action.

The Dance Ensemble at the University of California, Pennsylvania in Washington County creates dances that focus on the art of movement and advocacy for topics such as autism awareness, suicide prevention, and health. mental.

Their most recent dance highlights domestic violence.

“You can use your time on stage to just dance, or you can use that time to make the world a better place,” said Diane Eperthener-Buffington of Coraopolis, who has been teaching dance at the university for 12 years in the Department of Cultural Media. and performance. She also taught psychology for eight years. “We dive into the subjects. These dancers are selfless. They want to make a difference.

Its philosophy is “Dance with a goal”.

The movements are considered modern and contemporary. The facial expressions of the dancers help tell a story. There are spoken parts as well as written words indicating where people can go for help.

The 24-minute dance aired on Wednesday at a college event called Strike a Spark Research Conference.

It is available on YouTube.

It’s National Victims of Crime Rights Week.

Eperthener-Buffington has reached out to help the Alle-Kiski area HOPE center in Tarentum, which serves victims of violence and abuse in the northern counties of Allegheny and Westmoreland, as well as the center and Greater Pittsburgh Women’s Shelter, domesticshelters.org and Southwestern Pennsylvania Domestic Violence Services.

“I love the social change segment that they incorporated into the art of the dance ensemble,” said Michelle Gibb, executive director of the HOPE Center.

In the video, each dancer is in a physically different space. They have been separated because of the pandemic. The dance ended virtually.

“To see them in different spaces, and the fact that they’re all isolated, until they’re all displayed on the split screen, is very powerful,” Gibb said. “Often the victims are isolated in their own homes, a place where most of us feel safe. “

Gibb noted the juxtaposition of backgrounds from an empty garage or basement to a furnished living room and in front of a beautiful arched window. This shows that domestic violence can affect people from all walks of life.

“For social change to work, society has to change,” Gibb said. “This group of young people has a better understanding of the root causes and foundations of domestic violence. If you aren’t aware of a problem, you can’t stop it from happening.

Gibbs said having the performances available on YouTube extends its reach.

The dancers are from first year to seniors. They are volunteers and devote six or more hours per week.

“I love that we are standing up for something that is such a big issue,” said Rachel Wells, a psychology student at Brentwood. “We need to talk about these issues. “

Wells, who started dancing at the age of 2, said Eperthener-Buffington made learning easier by breaking down steps.

“It was an experience that I will remember all my life,” Wells said. “As students, we are under the stress of exams and everyday college life. Being able to work with Diane on this dance really helped us all in our 40s. I don’t know what I would have done without it.

This question is even more important now because of the last year of quarantine, Wells said.

“What Diane does has always been relevant, but it is even more relevant today,” Wells said. “Society needs to talk about these issues. If our dance only helps one person, it will all be worth it.

Wells said there was definitely a learning curve in the beginning with virtual instruction.

Eperthener-Buffington credits the undergraduate research center with former research director Gregg Gould, who is an associate professor of mathematics and physical sciences, for providing a home for the dance ensemble. Dean of Librarianship Douglas Hoover, Secretary of Librarianship Barbara Engle and Associate Professor of Social Work Azadeh Block also played roles in the project.

She also said that Michael Slavin, who is retired and who was the former chair of the university’s drama and dance department, believed in the project. Eperthener-Buffington was inspired to begin these dances because of her son, Colton.

At 18 months, he was diagnosed with autism. She wanted to give a voice to children who are on the autism spectrum.

“We talk pretty deeply about topics like suicide awareness and the resources available on campus,” Eperthener-Buffington said. “We are talking about addiction. And the deeper we go, the more emotional we can become. But we also talk about the light at the end of the tunnel. Depression, drug addiction and domestic violence are all on the rise, and more children are witnessing domestic violence at home. “

The Zikr Dance Ensemble is once again on guard.

Littleton’s Transcendent Dance Company, which explores spirituality by fusing ancient and contemporary dance practices from around the world, kicked off its 2021 season with Uncover, which debuted with a preview on April 7. The show will officially premiere on April 10 at Littleton’s Dance Ballet Theater Academy and will be broadcast live from Boulder’s Dairy Arts Center on April 12 and the Lakewood Cultural Center on April 17-18.

Going through 2020 was not easy for the troops.

“Like so many other nonprofit performing arts organizations, Zikr had to cancel last year’s season due to the pandemic,” said founder and artistic director David Taylor. But with help from the Scientific and Cultural Facilities District, funded by the $ 10 tax that supports nonprofit cultural organizations in the metro area, Zikr has managed to stay afloat.

Since COVID-19 vaccines rolled out and the state eased restrictions, says Taylor, launching Uncover was obvious.

“Motivation has never been an issue with the business,” says Taylor. “We decided last fall that, whatever happens, we will move forward with our plans for the 2021 season.”

The dancers rehearsed for Uncover for about five weeks and had to follow COVID-19 protocols, including getting tested twice a week and wearing masks all day. The company sanitized the ballet bars on a daily basis and did not allow dancers to leave the studio until their rehearsals were over.

Like all of Zikr’s work, Uncover is rooted in global mythologies and spiritual practices. All of the dances in the program focus on the hidden forces that direct and assist humanity. “These are the spiritual forces,” says Taylor. “The great masters and other spiritual initiates who work behind the scenes to help humanity in its spiritual development. There are many places in existence, the physical being one. Our incarnation in the physical plane is a choice of the soul, in order to learn certain lessons and to grow and progress in consciousness.

“There are spiritual entities who are always with us,” he adds. “On a larger and more cosmic scale, masters and initiates help direct and oversee the initiation stages of our own planet in accordance with God’s will.

One performance, “Walking Prayer,” includes short, complex arm movements and training changes developed by spiritual teacher and philosopher GI Gurdjieff. “Parallel & Elevated,” on the other hand, deals with two beings who maintain a close connection through time – one on the physical plane, the other on the spiritual plane. Other performances include “Oracle”, “Time’s Up”, Guides “,” Runes “and” Lifting the Veil “.

“Travis [Powell] will develop a digital animated visual effects series that will complement and be interspersed with slide shows that have been carefully selected for the new work, ”said Taylor. “Jeff Rusnak has created incredible headdresses for Uncover, as well as what can only be described as rotating and tilting slabs, on which five dancers stand at the beginning and end of a work called “Oracle”.

Whether the audience sees the show virtually or in person, Taylor hopes he will imbibe the many forms of spiritual oneness found in humanity.

Taylor wants people to revel in this: “the beauty, wonder and awe of beautiful dancers, music, images and lights as well as the recognition of the spiritual unity of humanity through expressions dance in many forms “.

For tickets and more information on Zikr Dance Ensemble, visit the company’s website.

In mid-2020, with the coronavirus raging, David Taylor made a decision. He was going to go ahead with the creation of his new dance, “Lifting the Veil” and somehow his company was going to put it on stage once this process was completed.

It was a serious commitment, given that Colorado’s show business was completely shut down at the time, and no one knew how long it would last. Or when the premises are ready to open. Or when the dancers could come together to rehearse. Or when the public would be comfortable venturing out of their homes to see live art.

But Taylor’s decision put his business in a good position. The theaters are returning (so slowly and in limited capacity) and the dancers have returned to their studios (so carefully and with strict safety protocols), and her Zikr dance ensemble is ready to move. This week, they are expected to become one of the first Front Range performing arts groups to return to business.

‘Lifting the Veil’ will have a four-part evolutionary premiere at a number of local venues, slated to begin with an hour-long premiere on April 7 at Southridge Recreation Center in Highlands Ranch, and end with a production on 17 and April 18 at the Lakewood Cultural Center.

At least that’s the plan. In an interview last week, Taylor admitted anything can happen between now and the final performance. He is moving forward, he said, with the same determination that drove him to finish the play “whether or not we have a theater to present it or an audience to experience it live.”

In addition, he has become accustomed to the setbacks and adjustments that have come to define the task of performing in the spring of 2021.

These include working with the sites as they do their own calculations on the wisdom of letting people in. In total, “Lifting the Veil” will be presented in various editions in four theaters, including the Dairy Arts Center in Boulder and the Denver Ballet Theater Academy in Littleton.

Granted, it would have been easier to stage the program in one location, but Zikr has no choice but to spread his wares. Like most small nonprofit arts associations in this region, it funds its operations through a combination of revenue from tickets, private donations, and government grants, including money from the seven county tax system known as the district name of scientific and cultural facilities.

Because SCFD distributes so much of its money county by county, Zikr must make an appearance in every county that contributes to his annual grant. So, for example, by performing at the Southridge Recreation Center, he fulfills his obligation to Douglas County.

Each location has its own set of evolving requirements that impact the staging. For example, Taylor said, due to social distancing needs, the Lakewood Cultural Center will only sell about 100 tickets for its 300-seat theater.

Production therefore had to be modified to operate at each location. It will be smaller at first and expand to include its full set of sets, sounds and lighting in Lakewood.

The 15 dancers of the company, all part-time and paid, had to remain agile and open-minded in the face of their own challenges. They resumed rehearsals in mid-March with an unprecedented set of rules in place. They are regularly tested for the virus and must wear masks during rehearsals, which is no small obstacle given their physically demanding occupation. Extra care was taken to clean the studio and wipe down the walls, floors and bars.

If a dancer or team member tests positive for the virus, the whole effort could be jeopardized, Taylor said. So far no one has.

Zikr Dance had one thing in its favor besides tenacity: it is well funded at the moment.

SCFD rules require grant recipients to perform each year in exchange for their money. But he made an exception in 2020, allowing organizations to keep the money for that year even though the places were dark. This help was important to keep operations afloat as they were experiencing financial hardship induced by the pandemic, although for some organizations it also means strong budgets to cover expenses in 2021.

As a small business, Zikr receives modest grants. For example, her 2020 grant from Jefferson County was $ 4,670 and she received $ 4,200 from Arapahoe County. Taylor said combining these funds with the 2021 grant cycle was crucial in shaping ‘Lifting the Veil’. Zikr is known to do a lot with limited resources; his shows have high production values ​​and his troupe is talented.

“Lifting the Veil” continues its mission of exploring the “ritualistic and transcendent aspects of dance,” as Taylor describes the work. Reflecting Taylor’s background, the company’s style combines a number of influences, including modern movement and ballet. Taylor is best known in Colorado for the 27 years he spent directing the David Taylor Dance Theater, which he founded in 1979 and integrated into the state’s first contemporary ballet company before leaving, eventually leaving. form Zikr in 2009.

There is a spiritual side to all of the company’s work, from marches and costumes to music, which brings together aspects of the sacred movement from around the world – Christian, Buddhist, Muslim and more, mostly unknown to those in apart from those beliefs, Taylor said. He cites the movement of whirling dervishes and traditional Balinese dancers among the inspirations of “Lifting the Veil”.

These classically shaped movements are enhanced by current technology. This show uses film screenings and digital graphic effects created by Travis Powell of design firm Deep Space Drive-In, and sets designed by respected visual artist George Peters.

The technology will also allow the room to come alive after the April live events. Taylor plans to send video recordings across the state to places like Alamosa, Grand Junction and Taos where, in a normal year, the company would travel in person during its touring season.

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