by Erin Lynch-Klarup
Cross country and track athlete Dave Theriault ’04 doesn’t think he has any business being on a dance floor. Nevertheless, Theriault and a mob of other runners will be flaunting their footwork in Dance Troupe’s spring show this weekend, Arrivals and Departures, in a piece titled Airport Dances. Theriault thinks runners agreed to take part in Airport Dances because of the sheer ridiculousness of the idea. “Let’s take a bunch of uncoordinated fools and put them in the artistic arena,” he said. The piece, choreographed by Shawn Womack, Theatre, brings together an unlikely group of artists and athletes to depict scenes and atmospheres of an airport.
Theriault had his first experience with dance last semester, when he took Womack’s choreography class on a whim. Womack encouraged her class to use movements familiar to them, so Theriault enlisted some fellow cross country runners and choreographed a running-based dance. This semester Theriault helped recruit track members for Airport Dances, in which the runners race about in synchronized formations suggestive of weather patterns.
Nick Gill ’05 ran in Theriault’s piece and is now in Airport Dances. He said that he doesn’t feel at home on the dance floor but was intrigued when he was asked to participate. “Since I don’t know anything about dance I thought it was interesting when they asked us so I said yes,” said Gill. As much as he has enjoyed the experience, Gill said he does not see himself taking up modern dance. “I think this is the end of my dance career,” he said, “I’ll quit while I’m ahead.”
Airport Dances is also skateboarder Ross Koon’s ’06 first modern dance performance, but unlike Gill he sees it as the beginning of his dance career. Koon has been skateboarding for two and a half years, but had no dance experience until he enrolled in Womack’s contemporary dance class this semester. He wrote a paper about skateboarding for the class and Womack asked him to be part of the Dance Troupe performance. During the dance, Koon periodically sails across or around the stage on his skateboard. Koon said he has enjoyed the experience and wants to be part of modern dances in the future, on skateboard and off.
Compared to the other guest performers, breakdancer Akira Honjo ’05 is a seasoned dancer. He was in Emanate his first and second years and helped Dance Troupe last year but didn’t explicitly breakdance. Honjo said that he has never had formal lessons but that he began to teach himself four years ago by watching videos. In Airport Dances Honjo busts out his break dancing, even performing moves upside down.
This semester’s Dance Troupe performers, replete with running, skateboarding and breakdancing, will work to stretch the boundries of modern dance.
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