On April 30, 2021, the Program in Dance presented a virtual festival featuring premieres of three new works choreographed by seniors Sophie Blue ’21, Liam Lynch ’21, and Enver Ramadani ’21. Hosted by Hearst Choreographer-in-Residence and guest faculty member Miguel Gutierrez, the evening highlighted the culminating works created by these students in fulfillment of their certificates in dance. Learn more about the new works and watch the filmed performances below.
əˈfem(ə)rəl by Sophie Blue
“əˈfem(ə)rəl” explores the intimacy and strength of the female moving body, as captured by the simultaneous choreography of the camera. Seeking to offer the audience a new lens into the dance, the highly prescribed usage of videography works against “objectifying” or “feminizing” the bodies and moving of the full female-identifying cast. Developed during the COVID-19 pandemic, this piece served as a centralizing site of movement production amidst social isolation, embodying the here and now of the times. Spelled phonetically, “ephemeral” visually nods to the feminine implications of the piece and its meaning refers to the fleeting yet impactful nature of the short COVID-19 period of time on dancers. Blue’s cast includes Princeton students Naomi Benenson ’23, Leah Emanuel ’23, Sam Grayson ’21, Margaret King ’22, Natalia Lalin ’24 and Emma Wang ’23.
empty your head by Liam Lynch
Filmed in an off-campus attic space, “empty your head” is a reflection on Lynch’s relationship with his grandfather, who has dementia, and the questions of memory, identity and subjectivity that his condition gives rise to. The piece tracks the transformation from a structured reality to a world in which context slips away. Students Nina He ’21 and Zi Liu ’24 join Lynch in the cast.
i.me by Enver Ramadani
In “i.me”, several dancers in solo vignettes perform experiences of navigating emotion and loss set to a soundtrack drawn from interviews with the cast. The work explores the volatility of being: how the pull into intimate, internal headspace challenges and complicates awareness of the physical, pedestrian self. Ramadani’s cast includes students Yolore Airewele ’21, Molly Gibbons ’22, Sam Grayson ’21, Ive Jones ’24, Samantha Liu ’22, Zi Liu ’24 and Julie Shin ’22.
View the full program information for Spring Dance Festival — April
