Big, bold movement
View(s):The Spectrum Dance Theatre from the US will perform ‘five of the company’s most impressive creations’ in Colombo
By Smriti Daniel
In a much anticipated performance, The Spectrum Dance Theatre will be performing in Sri Lanka this week. ‘An Evening of Excerpts from Repertory by Donald Byrd’ is presented by the American Centre in Colombo together with Dance Motion USA and will include a selection of five among the company’s most impressive dance creations.
Zebra Scorched. Pic by Gabriel Bienczycki
“The pieces provide a broad overview of one aspect of the Donald Byrd/ Spectrum Dance theatre aesthetic, its physicality,” the group’s Artistic Director, Donald Byrd, told the Sunday Times in an email ahead of the performance. “The pieces chosen, in my opinion, showcase one of the unique characteristics of American contemporary dance – abstract, big, bold, full body movement.”
Included in the performances scheduled for next week will be students of the University of Visual & Performing Arts and Centre for Performing Arts. They will dance alongside Spectrum Dance Theatre (SDT) artistes in fusions of contemporary American and traditional Sinhala and Tamil dance forms. Acknowledging that the challenge will be in how to create a meaningful experience for all involved in such a short period of time, Donald explains that he and his team relish the opportunity “to interact closely with the dancers and people of Sri Lanka and the opportunity for cultural exchange. I believe the workshops are a unique mechanism for honest, human to human diplomacy that create a kind of personal connection that might not be possible through other means.”
These workshops will cover a variety of dance styles, including contemporary modern dance, American jazz, hip-hop, and ballet. In addition, SDT will share some of the compositional processes that they use for the creation of choreography. Their tour begins in Galle, where they will conduct a workshop on March 17 for secondary school dance teachers and students. In Colombo, they will learn traditional Sinhala dance at the Chithrasena Dance Academy and also attempt to master the art of Tamil folk dance at the Centre for Performing Arts, taught by dancers from Jaffna and other parts of the country.
Founded in 1982, SDT’s stated objective is to make the art form of dance accessible through contemporary dance performances and high quality dancing training in a variety of dance styles.The umbrella organisation includes the professional company, the school, and outreach programmes. Donald Byrd, its critically acclaimed artistic leader since 2002, was nominated for a Tony in 2006 for his choreography of The Colour Purple and is among one of the most prolific and influential choreographers in modern American dance.
It is under him that SDT fully embraced their ‘Dance For All’ philosophy. Describing it as “central” to everything they do, Donald says, “Spectrum Dance Theatre aims to provide access and exposure to dance through performances, classes, workshops and information. We work to remove the barriers to dance. ‘All’ to us means everyone who is or might be interested in dance. Dance should not be reserved for a special group but is indeed for all.”
DanceMotion USA is a programme of the Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs of the US Department of State, produced by the Brooklyn Academy of Music (BAM) to showcase contemporary American dance abroad.
The American Centre Colombo, together with Dance Motion USA, presents ‘Spectrum Dance Theatre (SDT) – An Evening of Excerpts from Repertory by Donald Byrd’ at the Bishop’s College auditorium on March 22, at 7:30 p.m. Entrance is free. Those interested should collect their commemorative tickets from the American Centre at 44, Galle Road, Colombo 3. For more information call 0112498163 or 0112498106. Find out more at http://spectrumdance.org, www.dancemotionusa.org
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