By Cole Hatcher
Ohio Wesleyan University’s Orchesis Dance Company will present three performances of “Orchesis 22/23” spotlighting student and professionally choreographed pieces that range from “quirky and playful to soulful and introspective,” director Janet Schroeder says.
This year’s “Orchesis 22/23” will feature choreography by Schroeder, guest artist Isaiah Harris, and six student-choreographers. Performances will be held at 8 p.m. Nov. 11 and at 2 p.m. and 8 p.m. Nov. 12 on the Main Stage of OWU’s Chappelear Drama Center, 45 Rowland Ave., Delaware. Admission is free, but reservations are requested at owu.edu/orchesis.
Guest choreographer Harris, who recently earned his Master of Fine Arts in Dance at The Ohio State University, is working with Ohio Wesleyan students to present “The Liturgy of Muses,” a work that examines the relationship between identity and spirituality and how the two coexist on stage. The piece incorporates movement from the African Diaspora and liturgical dance found in the Black American church.
Harris has described the piece as “a take on W.E.B Dubois’s ‘double consciousness’ layered with a kind of ‘triple consciousness’ as dancers explore their identities, their respective muse, and one of the five Clark Sisters (from the well-known group of gospel singers).”
Also during “Orchesis 22/23,” senior Kayla Rush of Canonsburg, Pennsylvania, will present a piece she choreographed titled “An Inquiry.” The work is part of her senior project, “Choreography as a Research Lab,” which used research questions to create and develop movement material. Favorite phrases from the creative process were combined to create the piece.
In addition during the dance concert:
- Junior Ali Dix of Marion, Ohio, creates space for dancers to explore their individuality while thoughtfully incorporating movement dynamics.
- Junior Isabelle Tinti-Kane of Marblehead, Massachusetts, reflects on time and experience in her piece, “This Place Will Outlive You.”
- Junior Chloe Williams of Wilmington, Ohio, offers a study of the gifts and challenges of meaningful relationships.
- Sophomore Grace Frye of Newark, Ohio, uses tap dance to explore the concept of time.
- Sophomore Brielle Decarolis of Albrightsville, Pennsylvania, invokes nostalgia and joy through youthful, playful movement and relationships.
- Orchesis director Schroeder, Ph.D., part-time Performing Arts instructor and percussive dance artist, invites the audience to “feel the groove and boogie” with the full cast.
Learn more about Orchesis and Ohio Wesleyan’s upcoming Performing Arts events at owu.edu/PerformingArts.
Photo: Ohio Wesleyan will present three performances of its ‘Orchesis 22/23’ contemporary dance concert Nov. 11-12 on the Main Stage in Chappelear Drama Center. Admission to all OWU performing arts events is free this academic year. (Photo by Paul Vernon)
