What happens when two experienced dancer/choreographers who are also neuroscience majors investigate the intersections of thought and movement, brain and body, psychological impulse and physiological response? What if they invite biological processes to suggest the content and structure of their choreography? In their joint concert of senior, independent work, these two sensitive and gifted performers integrate themes important to them scientifically, artistically, and personally.
In her quartet, Backlit Engagement, Kate Stamper '04 reveals the dance of learned, social interaction and our innate need for human connection. She experiments with the effect of heightened perception, ordered chaos, consistency, repetition, casual gesture, and emotionally charged interchange to bring to light the developing interior self as it moves toward outward expression.
The course of neural growth, development, and degeneration has particularly inspired Julia Basso's ('04) choreographic work. Apoptosis is the process of programmed cellular death, or suicide, that counterbalances cellular proliferation and insures that developing organisms are born with the appropriate amount of neurons. It is also the title and theme of her quartet, in which Basso reveals the quirky, poignant, and even amusing aspects of this process.
Both Stamper and Basso perform original solos that highlight their individual strengths and unique artistic visions, as well as a collaborative duet in which their skill as dancers and choreographers and their love of science and dance merge. This performance takes place on January 21 and 22 at 8:00 p.m. in the Center for the Arts, Dance Theatre. Tickets to this lush, dynamic, and highly original concert are $5 general admission; $4 for faculty, staff, and seniors; and $3 for students, and are available at the Center for the Arts Box Office starting January 7.