Queer B/being: An Honors Thesis Concert by Ilo E.

 On March 28 & 29 at 7:30pm, dance major Ilo E. will present an Honors Thesis Concert entitled Queer B/being. This is a free event and registration is not required. Read below to learn about Ilo's research and creative process. 

Queer B/being is inspired by my research into the liberatory power of Afro-diasporic dance. It takes a deep dive into house dance foundational techniques, namely what I have identified as footwork, groove, rhythm, and freestyle. Similar to how phonology, morphology, syntax, and semantics can coalesce to create complex messages, Queer B/being explores how these foundational techniques coalesce to create and recreate a complex being, a queer being. 

This piece has what I like to call a resistant undertone and cosmic overtone. I wanted to create a world where Black bodies can embellish in Black queer aesthetics such as unrepressed sensuality, transformative physicality, and an internal rawness. The cosmos shines through the costumes, lighting, and soundscape, all inspired by my house club experiences in Chicago. I am very interested in how I can replicate the sensation of being in a trance that house dancers and club patrons tend to experience. 

Since my freshman year, I knew that I wanted to do an honors project; it was just a matter of what it would be about. Before my junior year, I had a revelatory experience at the Bates Dance Festival - my instructor, Duane Lee Holland Jr, sat us down and passionately expressed the importance of Black American Dance, including its perceived threat to Western oppression. As someone trained in multiple Afro-diasporic forms, I had never had someone blatantly point out its resistive power. It felt like a fire was lit within me from a place of pride and critical curiosity. My research narrowed to the technique of house dance and its implications on resistance to Western oppression.

My experience as a researcher and dancer has taught me that there is more beyond the concrete and tangible. There is so much in the imagined and sensational; it teaches us beyond what the former can name. In a world where the latter is continuously threatened, banned, and marginalized, the understanding and preservation of such practices are increasingly important.Thus, it must always be shared both in process with my cast and in witnessing through the audience. 

 

Thank you Ilo! Please join us on March 28 & 29 at the Schwartz Center for Performing Arts for Queer B/being.