What can we learn about ourselves and our communities by honoring familial and cultural traditions through sound, rhythm, and movement?
This is the central question of the Ursinus College Dance Company’s upcoming fall production. Directed and produced by Assistant Professor Michael J. Love, Sound(in)sight takes oral histories and transforms them into six cohesive dances.
UCDC explores the idea of community by having a big emphasis on family. Ella Roche ‘26 explained that “there is a big pull on family and family photos. That is how we are starting the show, is each cast for each piece is coming on stage and they have a family photo. So it is very communal and it is very different this semester.” This semester, there will be no curtain drop in the middle of the performance. This creates a more challenging experience for the dancers as they get no break in the middle. However, it furthers the themes of continuing cultural traditions and passing down history.
The opening number is a contemporary piece choreographed by Amalia Colon-Nava. Colon-Nava had an exhibition in the Berman last year reflecting on her grandparents moving back to Mexico and the impact that borders have on Latin Americans living in the United States. Roche says the piece “is very centered on coming and going as like a community, people coming in and out through our lives but always having that strand of being together.” Susannah Cheezum ‘27, one of the dancers says, “It opens the show and it explores how relationships are affected by time–in my personal interpretation.”
Throughout the production’s intricate journey, dancers will perform a plethora of styles like jazz, contemporary, tap, and capoeira. Capoeira is a martial arts style that comes from Brazil. This is a new style of dance for Roche, who said the capoeira hip-pop dance “took a lot of training and endurance to do.” The style of capoeira that UCDC will perform is Maculele, a stick-work-intensive variation. The preparation for this was very intense, according to Roche. “The choreographer for this piece was very tough,” she said. “The first few weeks we just did conditioning and drilling. I had blisters on the bottom of my feet! We would spend our two-and-a-half-hour rehearsal in a squat. It was tough on my body but also mentally a struggle because I’m learning these moves and they all have different names and they are all words and phrases that I don’t know. So it was also a struggle to remember what they mean.” Another piece they are doing is called ‘The Dance of the Patriarch.’ Roche explains, “It is a jazz number and a commentary on the structures that we have set in our society today. It’s kind of comical and exaggerated but it’s very fun!” The performance will take place November 20th to the 22nd at 7:30pm on the Lenfest Stage. You can buy tickets for the show at ticketleap.com for $5. Come support these amazing dancers in all the hard work they put in this production. There is a style of dance showcased in this production for everyone; you won’t be disappointed!