Dance Major Ilo E. shares Dance Photography Project: 9raxis

Dance Major Ilo E. is currently enrolled in the course, Intro to Black Feminism taught by Dr. Marcellite Failla, and for his final project pursued a dance photography exhibition featuring nine images that symbolize his Black feminist identity entitled "9raxis". Learn more about the project in Ilo's words below, and view some of the images captured by faculty member Lori Teague!

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9raxis is a combination of the term ‘praxis’ and the number ‘9’. I chose the word praxis because of its intrinsic relationship to Black feminist thought. According to Black feminist scholar Patricia Hill Collins, Black feminist thought does several things. First and foremost, Black feminism is an oppositional framework. In challenging oppression it creates an informational cycle between activism, Black feminist theory, and praxis. In understanding the intersection of oppression for marginalized identities (i.e. race and gender), Black feminists use shared experiences to empower collective standpoints, as well as exercise coalition building. In Black feminism ‘the personal is political’, and thus ALL oppressed people must be free. 

In P2axis, my spine curved in a perfect arc as I swung my flesh around me, amused and in awe by the shapes it made.  Feeling liberated, my flesh filled my kinesphere. I chose the colors gold, black, and green to represent the Jamaican flag. On the flag, green represents the vegetation of the island. Gold represents the wealth and warmth of the land. And black represents the people. I swing the black cloth around me letting it curl, wave, and fill with air to represent my liberated body, as well as the flesh of my ancestors. I like to think it also represents the fluidity of my gender, sexuality, and being. 

In Pr5xis, my hair whirled, poked, and reached around my head as I walked across the space, bouncing and swinging my arms. “Stand up” by reggae artists Kabaka Pyramid and Nathalia blasted throughout the Schwartz studio. Like hip-hop, reggae represents conscious movers of a conscious movement. Over the years, reggae music has become intrinsically tied to Rastafarians: members of an apolitical, social, and spiritual movement that originated in Jamaica. Rastafarianism, like Black feminism, vouches for the self-governing, actualization, and freedom of all oppressed people; including displaced Africans.

One may notice that 9raxis features themes of culture, gender, sexuality, and race amongst other things. I ask that you both acknowledge these themes and appreciate the dynamics, depth, and feeling of each photo to reach beyond them. Find new meanings and your own praxis.

Click here to learn more about 9raxis!

Emory Dance Company Choreographer Lori Teague

The Fall 2023 Emory Dance Company Concert features new work by 2023-24 Emory Arts Fellow Annalee Traylor, guest artist Celeste Miller, and Emory dance faculty Gregory Catellier, George Staib, and Lori Teague.

Read about faculty member Lori Teague's work and process below!

We are exploring the embodiment of warrior and healer—the cyclical nature of repair and preparation in the body. The relationships between dancers (the connections) move from a state of sensing to actualizing a common front that gives voice to our fears. The intention of linking/connecting is about knowing each other and recognizing that our individual journeys are vastly different. These varied perspectives align through touch, shared space, and rhythmic solidarity. We hope to offer powerful imagery of bodies freeing themselves, who are interested in sharing power, and listening more deeply to each other. This practice in this performance can create positive social change. 

The individual expression of each body is being heard and embellished in the work - each person is discovering personal releases. I am also still exploring the act of seeing someone without labels. This is a prompt I have been exploring for a while in my work. 

In my process I am implementing ways for the dancers to know each other more, through authentic movement practices and storytelling. Sometimes we sit down and talk about issues that each of us confront, or have been confronted by--how do we handle them? What has it done to our bodies? 

In watching the work, I hope viewers experience healing. 

Tickets for the Emory Dance Company Fall 2023 Concert are on sale now. Click here to purchase them now!

Emory Dance Company Choreographer Celeste Miller

 

The Fall 2023 Emory Dance Company Concert features new work by 2023-24 Emory Arts Fellow Annalee Traylor, guest artist Celeste Miller, and Emory dance faculty Gregory Catellier, George Staib, and Lori Teague.

Read about guest choreographer Celeste Miller's work and process below! 

Some of the concepts I am exploring in my work include the following questions: how do we locate ourselves and our unique vocabulary within a technique but not limited by a technique? how do we find our genuine selves as inventive and curious movers? how do we begin to understand blending that uniqueness with others, so that we enter into a state of ensemble? 

 

In my process, I bring words, story prompts, ideas and invite the dancers to find themselves as movers within those prompts. I am very excited about the dancers I am working with - their openness, collaborative spirit and contributions to a supportive environment. Through their performance, I hope the audience catches a moment of their humanness. 

Tickets for the Emory Dance Company Fall 2023 Concert are on sale now. Click here to purchase them now!

Emory Dance Company Choreographer Annalee Traylor

 

The Fall 2023 Emory Dance Company Concert features new work by 2023-24 Emory Arts Fellow Annalee Traylor, guest artist Celeste Miller, and Emory dance faculty Gregory Catellier, George Staib, and Lori Teague.

Read about faculty member Annalee Traylor's work and process below! 

I am thrilled to be collaborating with such a talented, thoughtful, and generous cast. Each individual brings their unique talents and perspectives, making them an integral part of the work's trajectory. Together, we are creating a world full of contradictions; I remain intrigued and inspired by its possibilities. 

 

My process oscillates between prompt-driven exercises and movement generated from my body. Artifice is in perpetual query as we employ distortion and exaggeration to juxtapose raw and vulnerable moments. The idea or notion of persona has provided a conceptual framework for the work. Throughout the process, we continually examine how expressivity manifests through our entire being. 

 

I hope the work evokes an emotional reaction/connection for the viewer - whether through humor, pleasure, sentimentality, disgust, shock, confusion or another emotion - an underlying goal is always that the viewer has felt something. 

Tickets for the Emory Dance Company Fall 2023 Concert are on sale now. Click here to purchase them now!

Emory Dance Company Choreographer George Staib

The Fall 2023 Emory Dance Company Concert features new work by 2023-24 Emory Arts Fellow Annalee Traylor, guest artist Celeste Miller, and Emory dance faculty Gregory Catellier, George Staib, and Lori Teague.

Read about faculty member George Staib's work and process below!

I am currently working to find gritty physicality especially as it relates to partnering. I am using a somewhat “romantic” piece of music and within the playground of that score, am looking toward making the work look and feel murky. Although there are images that require finesse and somewhat statuesque interactions with other dancers – my goal is to reveal something a little more “underworldly.” The working title is “Altar” and therefore the work examines tendencies toward sacrificing and worshiping - non-Biblically. Through the process we are asking ourselves: how much is too much? When do we lose ourselves inside the act of coveting?  

I am excited and daunted by using a simple prop as well as music that is aesthetically pleasing. Both of these influences could easily lead me toward a work that feels and looks “pretty” – I am thrilled by the challenge of moving in the opposite direction.  

This process is highly collaborative. I tend to drop prompts and movement ideas into the space and ask the dancers to relate to them in their unique ways. From there, we work together to edit, crystalize images, and build from common ground.  

I am hoping for to create breathless anticipation and tension. Another goal is to drop images into the space that may lead a viewer toward their own ideas surrounding the notion of sacrifice. Additionally, I am intentionally working to avoid the tendency to “complete” an idea – rather, I am choosing to let an idea peak – and then dissolve, without resolution. 

Tickets for the Emory Dance Company Fall 2023 Concert are on sale now. Click here to purchase them now!

Emory Dance Company Choreographer Greg Catellier

The Fall 2023 Emory Dance Company Concert features new work by 2023-24 Arts Fellow Annalee Traylor, guest artist Celeste Miller, and Emory dance faculty Gregory Catellier, George Staib, and Lori Teague. 

Choreographer Greg Catellier has been working in the field of contemporary dance for thirty years. This includes dancing in works of his own and others, choreographing dances for students and professionals, and designing lighting and sets for dances. He teaches dance, choreography, and design at Emory and has supported numerous dance artists, festivals and organizations through technical support and advisement. He believes firmly in the power of dance to transform those dancing and those watching the dance. Read about his work and process below!

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The dancers and I are creating something that looks like polyphonic chaos sounds. A representation of the anxiety that many of us feel from the precariousness of the political, social, and natural worlds in which we inhabit. 

Within the chaos are moments of connection between individual dancers, and between the dancers and the sound track. The chaos seems to break with glimpses of structure or something nearly structured. We are achieving this through the use of punctuated equilibrium; that is we try a bunch of things, we keep what works and toss what doesn’t. 

 

The piece ends with a moment of calm that I hope the audience will sink into, like a warm hug or comfy bed. I am enjoying working with this cast of committed, intelligent dancers. 

Tickets for the Emory Dance Company Fall 2023 Concert are on sale now. Click here to purchase them now!

Student Ilo E. Attends Bates Dance Festival

Dance major Ilo E. received a Sally A. Radell Friends of Dance Scholarship to attend the Bates Dance Festival this past summer. Read on for a reflection of his experience through the description of various images captured throughout the festival

Photo by Olivia Moon Photography

“To no surprise Bates Dance Festival has left me FULL” is what I titled my Instagram post with a sigh of content. I had spent nearly the last two hours narrowing down my five weeks into 10 snapshot moments. As it uploaded, I flipped through each one, staring in awe and disbelief. “THAT’S what I look like?” is what I thought, prideful of the glow on my face.

In the first photo, the large gym windows pale in comparison to my bright smile. My black shirt and cornrowed hair fly up from my body in a dance of their own. This was taken during Shakia Barron’s street and club styles repertoire. I met Shakia within my first week at Bates. Immediately we connected, from her corny humor to her love for insane footwork that leave your feet pumping with adrenaline. Her in-depth knowledge of Hip-Hop history and practice exceeded my expectations, leaving me with a plethora of books, documentaries, and movies to binge for future research.

In another photo my green new balances float above the marley as my fingers snap in rhythm with the movement during Duane Holland’s Hip-Hop class. I remember first seeing Duane on stage my first time at Bates. Sweat dripped as he held a backwards handstand for minutes on end. He transferred his embodied knowledge both through lecture and movement, emphasizing the importance of Black American art and its continuum. Both Shakia and Duane’s inclination to teach in this way shifted and challenged the epistemology of Black art, music, and dance.

Another artist and educator I worked with, Kimani Fowlin, stressed the significance of amplifying my voice in order to strengthen my capacity. She pushed us to our limits energetically urging us to use our breath as we practiced traditional African movement. In another image, she sprints to stay ahead of my long quick legs. The green grass captured my shadow as I soared across it cupping the air in front of me. I can almost hear Okai, our accompanist, leading us in songs as he claps underneath one of the many trees on the field. Okai is a talented dance and musical Haitian artist. This cultural detail made his presence extra special to me given my Afro-Caribbean heritage. Numerous times my heart swelled as I learned and sang the songs of my ancestors. 

Among the many new companions I made, I can’t help but to write about Kaitlyn Nelson. In another photo, next to my furrowed brows and bladed hand she squatted next to me, screwing her face as we embodied the unapologetic grace of our ancestors in the next photo. Throughout the program I stared at Kaitlyn in awe. Also of Afro-Caribbean descent, she never passed up an opportunity to whine her waist, screw her face, and express the grounding quality of our ancestral movement. Moving and creating with her allowed me to reclaim my Black feminine power, letting it pour through my movement.

To no surprise, Bates Dance Festival has left me full of pride, gratitude, magic, culture, power, and most importantly community.

Thank you for sharing this reflection Ilo! Click here to learn more about The Friends of Dance at Emory.