KSU hosts a Dance Radnocular, the Dance Department’s way of showcasing research by undergrad dance scholars. The event was held at the Dance Department studio on Friday, Feb. 12 at 12:30 p.m. Food and drinks were provided to participants and attendees. Students presented research in dance and psychology, dance and education, and dance by choreography.
Each presentation presented new and unique ways of exploring dance and offered much insight to the students true passion for the activity. One of my favorite pieces was a selection from the choreographed dance called “Skewed.” The piece was student created and performed by members of the dance company. The purpose of the piece was to express how people see and interpret things differently, and how diverse perspective can actually be a good thing.
I was also intrigued by another piece that was presented, called the the HUM project. The purpose of the piece was to experiment with how dance may play a role in mental and emotional well-being. The student presenting this information introduced the idea of using dance as therapy. In his proposal for research, he would like to examine how using dance in therapy sessions can improve ones emotional state.
Before attending this event I never thought of dance much outside of dancing for fun or watching a performance. I also believed dance majors only used their profession on a stage or in a studio. Using dance in other fields is an appealing approach in sharing dance with people who wouldn’t otherwise think of it in that way.
Dance in education was presented by a student who wants to introduce dance in the classroom. Her proposal was to use a few schools as test subjects for a interactive packet that will instruct teachers in getting the students involved in a brief movement session. In her presentation, she used the audience as an example for what the teachers will be doing in the classroom. The audience were instructed to stand up and follow the prompts given. The audience was asked to close their eyes and imagine moving their arms through sand, raising and lowering their arms.
After the brief demonstration the audience was asked to sit and were told that the movements they made were considered dance. The purpose of this is to show students in a classroom that dance is so much more than what’s inside of the box. For someone that does not have much knowledge about dance, I was glad I was able to attend. The event was entertaining and a nice way to find new perspective on dance and the possibilities behind it. Make sure to check out future events at http://arts.kennesaw.edu/dance/.
