On March 30-31, the dance program will present York Dances 2023: Convergence, a performance featuring the choreography of 27 dance students.
Sahara Shwed, a third-year dance student, will debut her choreography in Convergence, saying that, “the piece I choreographed is inspired by moving without seeing and how a disability can affect the way you interact in your daily life. Eyesight is considered one of the most important of the five senses that humans possess. For someone who is blind, the absence of eyesight can affect all aspects of your life.”
“During this process, I was able to work with very lovely dancers that are kind, friendly, and accepting — they’re all very talented and willing to bring my vision to life,” adds Shwed.
Convergence will explore the variety of themes and ideas that inspire and interest the choreographers. For Christian Sears, a third-year dance student, his choreography depicts the life of women during and after World War II.
“My piece is about the history of women in WWII in the 1930s and ‘40s and how their war efforts are not acknowledged — and how they were overall oppressed by men during this time,” states Sears. “It is also about the tragedy of women losing their husbands and the men coming back disfigured with PTSD which led to this abuse of women after the war,” says Sears.
This performance gives the opportunity for dance students to work and collaborate with their peers while being guided by dance faculty.
Leah Rodgers, a fourth-year dance student from the Bahamas also speaks about her piece and the collaborative process, saying that, “my piece was successful through collaboration with such a creative and amazingly talented group of dancers. There were stages in the process where I was challenged due to ‘choreographer’s block’. However, with the assistance of my dancers and by utilizing their strengths, an astonishing piece was created.”
Sears also highlights that moments of stillness can have more effect over moments of chaos, stating, “My biggest challenge was how to translate my concept to the dancers and to discover what pieces in the choreography were effective, and which to abandon.”
Looking forward to the performance, Shwed shares that, “the audience can expect to see how stories or journeys unfold within a short amount of time.”
This performance will be featured in two sections in the McLean Performance Studio, Series A will begin at 7 pm and series B will begin at 8:30 pm.
To learn more about this event and to purchase tickets, click here.
