Behind the Scenes of "perejil": Cast Perspective with Bibby Agbabiaka

By Raven Crosby, Emory Dance Program Office Assistant

Bibby Agbabiaka is a passionate first-year student who is actively involved with the Emory Dance Program. This fall, Agbabiaka was a cast member in Julio Medina’s dance film perejil (parsley), which was set on the Emory Dance Company and was a response to this past summer’s civil unrest against racial inequality. The name references the racially motivated 1937 Parsley Massacre of Haitians in the Dominican Republic orchestrated by the Dominican dictator, and is also the title of a poem about the massacre by Rita Dove.

The creation, rehearsal process, and performance of this piece was different than a dance set for a stage. The rehearsal process began with dancers bringing in poems that mirrored the topic of the piece and were used as a starting point to jointly create bits of choreography that would come together as the dance film. Agbabiaka says “It was different from practicing for the stage because we didn’t always have to focus on facing a certain direction, as there was no live audience. As a result, our formations and positions were also a lot more flexible.” He also learned more about the importance of working with others and having synergy as a team. “It was especially important for us during the recording of the dance film because we were often dancing without any music, so we had to be in tune with each other’s rhythm so that we could still be majorly in sync.”

 

The filming occurred over multiple days to cover different locations. At each location, there were multiple takes. “[The filming process] was quite long, but of course still fun because we were all (us dancers and Julio) in each other’s presence, cheering each other on and laughing whenever we made a mistake” said Agbabiaka. One challenge Agbabiaka mentioned that the dancers had to overcome “was having to do floor work (modern dance) on a hard, concrete floor outdoors, as opposed to doing so indoors on the softer, smoother dance studio floor.”

Agbabiaka also mentioned how the knowledge of the subject matter in perejil was important in portraying emotion in the piece. “Though I can’t speak for anyone else, I kept in mind the actual horror of the Parsley Massacre so that my dancing could emerge as a more genuine response to these things that happened in history.” He feels that with this context, the message of the film comes across quite well through the movement and music. The message is presented through dance movements “that represented resistance and fighting back against something.” Music, composed by Xay Zoleil created a “… solemn, defiant and slightly mysterious atmosphere,” which “brought all elements of perejil together.”

 

The filming process encouraged Agbabiaka to think about what other subjects can be molded into dance pieces or films whether they are “…topics that are widely talked about or things that are more peculiar and need more attention.” He also grew to appreciate all the work that goes into creating a dance film: “the choreography, the practice, the filming, the editing, the costuming, composition of music, and other elements. Seeing how we all managed to bring it to life makes me interested in one day creating something similar myself.”

Watch perejil here: https://vimeo.com/478659125

Before watching, we recommend viewing the introduction by choreographer Julio Medina: https://vimeo.com/478970692 

 

Photos by Lori Teague