For me, dancing is a way of expressing emotions that tend to not have words appropriate enough to explain. I remember the first day of Heidi’s rehearsal she explained the heart behind her piece, “Intricate Effect.” She had emotions that only movement could express. She explained that the piece was about being away from somebody not by choice and in her case it was her husband. In that first rehearsal she desired for us to be in a similar mindset. She asked us to write down experiences where we have been away from someone not by choice. As we did this, I realized how personal this piece would be to me. My father passed away about five years ago and as I realized that, the dance took on a new meaning. Through learning movement, cleaning pieces, and growing in my understanding of the emotional feel of the piece, the dance became therapeutic for me. When you think about the process of creating a dance you think of the steps listed above, but through this piece I’ve come to understand the emotion of dance better. I’ve come to a place of finding out what it means to pour all of me into a piece. Each time we run the dance I find myself learning something new about my own situation. I know that when the dance hits the stage it will take on an even more powerful meaning and emotion, and I can’t thank Heidi enough for that.
Photo: Prem Ananda premphoto.com
