Photo courtesy of Donalie Black
Learn more about Emory Dance Company (EDC) choreographer Donalie Black! She is presenting work at the spring concert this April 20-22, 2023.
Donalie Black is a senior double majoring in dance and art history with an arts management concentration through the Goizueta Business School. She is a lifelong dancer who was classically trained at Dancenter North in Libertyville, Illinois before honing her dance skills at Emory. While she has had some experience with choreography before, this is her first full-length modern dance piece. Being part of the Emory Dance Program has been the highlight of her college experience, and she would like to thank all the Emory dance professors for their guidance and support throughout college. While dance will always remain an integral part of her life in some capacity, next August, Donalie will be embarking on her first year of law school.
Read on to learn about her choreographic inspiration and process.
The creative process for this piece was inspired by my academic journey in art history; my jumping off point for generating movement was well-known works of art made by female artists which depict women in physical, mental, and abstract forms of pain or suffering. This visual input has taken me and my cast to really interesting creative places, as we have taken inspiration from the artists' meaning, development of the physical images, and the formal process. What we have been left with is movement that explores femininity and suffering.
My choreographic process began with providing individuals, duets, and trios in my cast with a specific artwork as inspiration and some specific jumping off points or choreographic scores associated with the artwork. I then manipulated these initial inspirations, added core phrases for the group, and weaved the inspirations into a framework for the piece.
I am most excited about the multitude of options when engaging with this process. It has been such a joy to manipulate movement, change intentions in different sections, and think about how adjusting technical elements (music, lighting, costumes) will change the way the audience experiences the work. As I am not finished with the work yet, I am excited to see where the process will take my dancers and me. Much like looking at a piece of visual art, I hope every observer will walk away having undergone something unique and idiosyncratic. I am so lucky to have a talented and dedicated cast that is able to aid in the choreographic process and bring my visions to life.
Thank you Donalie!
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