Emory Dance Company Choreographer Lori Teague

Photo from Teague's Fall 2019 EDC piece the optimistic body.

By Raven Crosby, Emory Dance Program Office Assistant

This fall, Emory Dance faculty member Lori Teague will set a series of site-specific works on the Emory Dance Company. Her first work in the series is “capacity,” which is inspired by current protests. Teague wants to shed a light on the many people who are “...fiercely standing their ground, walking in solidarity, and all of us who are expecting results.”  The pieces in the series following “capacity” will capture qualities of beauty and whims, which are two things Teague believes are needed at the moment.

 

Teague approaches the choreographic process by creating core material that is explored both in rehearsal and by the dancers during a performance. She creates a structure that allows the performers to know the intention and general structure of the piece well, while still allowing space for improvised movements. In the group’s rehearsal process, they discuss topics such as the protests, then explore the meanings of their gestures and actions that emerge from their conversation. These movements are then shaped, refined, and moved into performance mode. Rehearsals take place in the dance studio and at the performance sites. 

 

Teague describes the rehearsal process as follows: “In a recent rehearsal, on the road between the hospital and Candler Library, the dancers felt the power of stillness, the challenge of dancing on an incline and a hard surface, the heat, and more. We are bringing these things into the creative process and allowing them to influence the performance.”

 

The pandemic has impacted Teague’s decision to present works over the course of the semester rather than waiting until November, when the Emory Dance Company normally performs. Social distance influenced her piece's movement elements such as spatial composition and interaction between dancers. However, Teague has discovered that this is not so much a restriction, but a chance to discover creative ways to communicate something important to the audience. Through solos, duets, and trios, Teague is striving to “...capture the compartmentalized way we have had to quarantine and mask our bodies.”

Teague has a few things that she would like for her dancers to take away from this process. She wants them to begin to discover the potential of spaces outside of a traditional theater. By relating to these spaces intentionally, instead of randomly, this can strengthen works. She also wants them to know that “We can bring art to the people sometimes!”

 

Once the pandemic subsides, Teague believes that there may be more site-specific pieces due to how the Atlanta dance community has adapted to this format. She notes that although many festivals and performances were shut down in the spring, dance companies came back and discovered new ways to present their works by taking to the streets, parking decks, backyards, and open-air venues. As Teague put it, “If there is a will, there is a way.”