The Journal

Issue date: 10/4/07 Section: Lifestyle

Media Credit: Jamie Ford Dance majors perform a contemporary piece during Sept. 27 using different size pieces of fabric.

Media Credit: Jamie Ford A dancer's silhouette stands out in the window of the library during a dance performed by dance majors. The dancers used the library building and the benches and trees in the Quad for the piece.

As the sun began to set over the Quad, the flags rose from their hiding spots behind the turrets lining the high wall on top of the Emerson Library. The air was pierced by the sounds of drums as they beat a lively rhythm.

The Fallfest Homecoming festivities started out with a bang and a beat when the WU Dance Club, directed by Beckah Voigt, put on a show in the Quad Sept. 27.

Approximately 40 spectators were on hand to view the show, categorized as a "site-specific improv," said Miranda Miller, a junior dance major.

"It means that the dancer improvises within the environment, the buildings, the trees, the construction," she said.

Miller said they had been rehearsing for about two weeks in preparation for the event. Two to four times a week, they performed window improvisations and used fabrics draped from the top of the library to accentuate
the performance.

Voigt, head of the dance program and an associate professor in the department, explained site-specific improv further.

"It's a common modern dance technique," she said. "It's very well known. Some dancers make a whole career out of doing this type of dance."

She said many of the dancers had not had much exposure to this type of performance prior to the evening.

She felt, however, that they did a great job, although she said her vision was obscured.

"I performed as well," she said. "I was on top of the library giving directions and didn't really see the show."

She said the idea had initially been proposed by one of the students in the dance club, senior dance student Janele Moore, who is a B.F.A candidate.

Some of the dancers were frustrated by the condition of the Quad, which had recently been torn up in preparation for the reconstruction of the grassy area. They were told that the construction would not begin until after the show, but when they came out to perform there were bulldozers parked on the Quad and the ground in front of the library was torn opened and fenced in.

But onlookers were not dismayed. Jennifer Wellencamp, a senior animation major, was very proud of her friend Laura Murphy, a junior with a double major in dance and international human rights, who was one of the dancers.

"She has been working on it most of the semester," said Wellencamp. "It's too bad the Quad is all dug up, but I'm very excited for her. She's also wearing my purple pants."

Murphy was happily surprised with the turnout.

"I think it went very well," she said, "We were worried nobody was going to come because of the construction and because it was at night, but a lot of people came."
The dancers were all wearing a different color theme. For example, Miller wore white, and Murphy wore purple. Coordinating fabric banners streamed down the side of the library and rippled in the dusky breeze.

Standing motionless, but vibrant and alive, the dancers provided kinetic energy with their stillness. Added to the effect were the sounds of birds flying though the trees and singing, almost in unison with the live sound of the music being played by a live musician.

Alan Schilling, the accompanist who trained at the St. Louis conservatory was set up with a plethora of percussion instruments. Schilling is an adjunct faculty member who has been playing for about 20 years, the last three at WU.

"We are trying to provide some entertainment for the alumni who are coming for the Homecoming week," he said.

He said that although the official Homecoming celebration started this weekend, he hoped that some of the early arrivals would have had the opportunity to enjoy the show.

Claire Hilleren, a senior dance major, was excited to be part of the event.

"Usually the dancers don't get to be a part of the Homecoming celebration," she said.

Her father, Rudy Hilleren, a Kirkwood resident, attended the performance. He was proud of his daughter, and said he was excited to have been able to see the show. Claire said that she had recently transferred from the University of Iowa and was very happy to have made the change, citing smaller class sizes at WU, and individual freedom to do performances that were more modern.

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