» Art and dance: Fusion at the Harwood
Arts organizations and training programs around the country are embracing technology and providing access to quality programs you can tune into from home. The Academy Of Performing Arts in Taos is reinventing the concept of what is a stage at the Harwood Museum of Art on 238 Ledoux Street. Using the existing exhibition and soliciting ideas from the dancers about what the paintings mean to them is a powerful exercise exploring the fusion between art and dance.
Bringing together the museums’s artwork and dance is a rare opportunity to watch a mixed repertoire production that combines classical ballet solos, rhythmic pieces and an original work created by Amber Vasquez-Thomas for the Harwood Museum. The title of the show, Dance at The Harwood, a Digital Dance Production, is available by video March 18-21. To watch the performance visit taosdance.com. A video link will be emailed after a ticket is purchased. Academy director Kathleen Martin said, “This is the Academy’s fifth performance during the novel pandemic. I am excited to show the improvement in performance quality and stage presence. I am proud of all of our students, and our young students in particular. Filming performances allows for a lot of forgiveness, if someone forgets a step we can start over. There is a lot of room to learn and grow. This time around, the young dancers know the choreography, practice their steps and are truly starting to ‘perform.’”
Keeping the dancers inspired during the pandemic has been no small task.
“It’s important to me to give these kids something to look forward to,” Martin said. “I always loved museums – growing up, secretly hoping some random security guard could give me a private tour of the back rooms. I hope by performing in a museum I can inspire our dancers to feel the same magic I felt at their age.”
This performance also opens a digital platform for a growing community of local artists. “It is a great example of art supporting art,” according to Martin. Each class has worked on a piece to showcase, including classical ballet solos performed by the Harwood’s elite ballerinas.
In a press release, Vasquez-Thomas said this about her piece and her creative process, “My piece is based on artist Maja Ruznic’s painting, ‘In the Sliver of the Sun.’ I did not create this dance based on my interpretation of the painting, but rather, asked the students to individually interpret the painting. This not only gives them a personal understanding of the project, but gives them a first-hand look at how dancers can use their artistry and creativity to collaborate with other artists.” Vasquez-Thomas said she invited dancers to independently contemplate Maja Ruznic’s painting and answer two questions: What do you see? And how does it make you feel? She then recorded each of the student’s reactions and choreographed a dance response from each student’s own words, acting as the soundtrack to their movements. “Ruznic’s painting is very powerful and the student’s reactions to this painting are raw and truthful, but also very much in line with what the artist intended,” Amber continued. “The painting’s imagery truly begs for the viewer to create a narrative about it and it has been fun to create a dance that reveals five real narratives by five different viewers.” Martin said this production is an exciting milestone because “it marks the one-year anniversary of our first lockdown. This time last year we were sitting at home, stagnant. A year later, here we are growing, moving and performing.”