A 'Fragile' showcase of movement and emotion
By Kristin Nehls, Assistant Entertainment Editor
February 22, 2008 | 3 p.m.
The stage often serves as a blockade between the audience and its performers, creating intangibility within a performance. This Friday at 7:30 p.m., however, the Dance Alloy Theatre strives to break that fourth wall at Ohio University with its show “Fragile."
With its elaborate costumes and unique dancing style, the Dance Alloy Theatre brings a distinct personality to the stage. Unlike more common forms of dance, such as contemporary dance and ballet, this unique form of modern dance focuses more on the visual aspects of the performance rather than the movement of the actual dances.
“[This show] presents something that connects with each and every audience member and it speaks to [the audience] directly,” said Lauren C'an Urbschat, the Dance Alloy Theatre’s Marketing Director.
Founded in 1976, the Dance Alloy Theatre comes to Ohio University from its hometown of Pittsburgh, where it serves as both a modern dance company and a school for over five thousand students of all different ages and ability. The company prides itself in its emphasis on non-competitive dance, hoping to merely spread the concept of dance to others through its classes and its traveling performances.
“Fragile’s” two choreographers and costume designers are Donald Byrd and Susan Marshall, while the Dance Alloy Theatre’s Artistic and Executive Director Beth Corning also choreographs one piece. Between Byrd and Marshall boasts a resume of studies at the London School of Contemporary Dance, Yale and Harvard, as well as the awarding of two New York Dance and Performance Awards. Each choreographer has, at one time, owned his or her own company, boosting “Fragile’s” credibility and also guaranteeing an aesthetically complex and pleasing presentation.
As headlines recently highlight the dreary events society has experienced as of lately, ranging from school shootings a few states away to attempted suicide right here on campus, the Friday night performance of “Fragile” could not be more timely. This is because one of the major aspects of the Dance Alloy Theatre is to create a sense of humanity upon the stage, touching on subjects as sensitive as death and abuse.
One segment of the show is particularly emotionally-charged, resulting from the premise of the inspiration behind the story. It is based on a tragic bicycle accident that resulted in the death of a young Pittsburgh boy.
“[Byrd] was so inspired by the way that the family had come together during this horribly tragic loss… there are all of these different ways of grieving, and the way that [Byrd] portrays it is through dance,” C'an Urbschat said.
Audience members will have the opportunity to speak with individual performers about these specific emotions or any other aspect of the “Fragile” experience at Friday’s performance. The Dance Alloy Theatre is advertising that Friday’s performance will be followed by a "post performance talk back" with the performers and the audience, giving the audience a one-on-one opportunity to further divulge in the culture of the Dance Alloy Theatre.
The performers themselves are also connected in their own ways, both on and off the stage. In addition to the relationships that the performers have obviously formed in the close constraints of the show’s rehearsals, their histories together off-stage are evident in the final product of “Fragile.” This show’s group of dancers has been together for as long as four years, with many dancers being a part of the company for as many as nine years.
OU students have the privilege of witnessing a world premiere of one particular dance segment titled "Interrupted Narrative/No Consolation," choreographed and costume designed by Donald Byrd. "Interrupted Narrative/No Consolation" ponders the idea of the untold stories of a griever’s personal life.
“I wonder about the impact of the death of a child on marriages and family, the ensuing grief. I wonder if that sorrow is ever consolable, if that pain ever stops, or if that absence is ever filled,” said Byrd on the Dance Alloy Theatre’s Web site, in a preface to his own segment of the show.
College-aged kids are the perfect target audience for “Fragile,” not only because of the thematic maturity of the stories behind each dance, but also because of the humanity that is evoked from the performance as a whole. “All of these works together ask you to evaluate yourself… it is like poetry… it stops you for a minute, it makes you look at the little things that sometimes go unnoticed,” C'an Urbschat said.
As far as OU specifically, dance events typically have brought in a good mix of students and community members, proving that this show will contribute to the culture that OU's campus values, said Andrew Holzaepfel, the associate director at the Office of University Events.
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The Dance Alloy Theatre will be performing "Fragile" Friday, Feb. 22 at 7:30 p.m. in the Templeton-Blackburn Alumni Memorial Auditorium. Tickets cost $8 for students and can be purchased at the theater box office.