May 14, 2021 | LIFE | By Mahnoor Rehman | Photo by Bibi Powers
The virtual world has become an important aspect of our lives during the pandemic as daily activities shift to online platforms like social media and Zoom. In order to ensure the safety of the dancers and the Colorado College community, leaders decided that the famous Dance Workshop would be virtual in the spring semester. For the past decade, Dance Workshop has been a tradition for CC students to express themselves on stage in front of the school audience.
However, the virtual platform in no way stopped the innovation and creativity of the student body. The multiple performances involved contemporary, hip-hop, and many other dance genres which were all executed wonderfully. The diversity of dances reflected on the CC community and the talent it holds in the dance and theatre departments.
We got to see many imaginative costumes for the dancers who embraced their characters and identities. One of the pieces had a rainbow theme and was radiating positive energy through the lovely colorful costumes of each dancer. This made Dance Workshop much richer in its expression of emotions and elevated the energy of the whole show.
Many students decided to take advantage of a virtual platform by filming their dance across campus to accessorize their piece. The dances were filmed in front of different buildings on campus, such as Tutt Library and Armstrong Hall. This gave a new trajectory for many pieces, making the dances much more interactive with their fun backgrounds.
Many dance pieces were also filmed outdoors, which gave a very fresh and new vibe to the whole workshop. The sunshine alongside the beautiful scenery of Colorado Springs added to the aesthetic of the whole show. This also gave refreshing hope to the student body about the amazing CC outdoor culture that we hope to see resume in the next semester.
Moreover, the narrations of some of the dance pieces were absolutely phenomenal. They were full of power, strength, and emotion that reflected on the connection that the participants had built with their performance art. You could see their words being translated into various dance movements leading towards a theatrical experience for everyone.
The distinct dance pieces also showed a variety of photography skills from the people behind the camera. The angles and various shots were captured beautifully to enhance the performance and the screening process for Zoom. It was worth watching the alterations in the shots that represented the wonderful editing skills of the participants. Some of the dance leaders chose to utilize their own skills while others asked their peers for help in the video-making process.
The event was screened on Tava Quad for a limited number of people, as well as on Zoom for online participants to enjoy. It was definitely an unusual but extraordinary piece of work for which the credit goes to each and every person involved with Dance Workshop. The event was proof of how art sustains itself in various challenging conditions and positions itself in a way to express empowerment as well as resistance.