Kate Monson, creative director of DancEnsemble, discusses the upcoming concert and the benefits of collaboration.
DancEnsemble, which each semester gives students a chance to present their own choreography in concert, regularly pairs students up with other academic units to create multidisciplinary performance art. This semester, the Department of Art brings some set pieces, original art, and original costuming to the different dances.
“My goal is for us to collaborate with somebody outside of the dance field every winter,” said Kate Monson, the creative director of DancEnsemble. “Last winter, we collaborated with musicians and the School of Music, and Neil Thornock and Christian Asplund helped me with that. What’s most different about this semester is that we’re collaborating with visual artists. We’re working with Joe Ostraff and eighteen of his students. They’ve all contributed to the pieces.” Joe Ostraff, an art professor at BYU, is renowned for his collaborative work.
Collaboration is an increasingly important part of contemporary dance. As the art form moves into the future, more dancers and premier dance companies work with other artists to attract modern audiences.
“It’s more and more where the dance field is going,” said Monson. “Straight dance on proscenium stage isn’t as common anymore. It’s pretty theatrical, pretty intense in the use of things that are not exactly dance.”
Although incorporating new artistic techniques presents challenges for dancers, Monson recognizes the benefits. “I’ve gotten really into collaboration, myself, in the past several years,” she said. “I wish I had done it a lot earlier, significantly earlier, because I realize how much it pushes me as an artist to get to new places.”
The cooperative work of two creative minds often creates powerful works of art, but also requires communication and respect from both collaborators.
“Collaborating’s definitely easier on certain personalities than others,” Monson said. “It’s a new relationship every time. Every time you do it, there’s a little bit of time where you’re figuring out how you’re going to gel with your collaborator, how you’re going to make it work. There’s tons of give and take.”
Collaboration helps enrich art and take it in different directions, and when it works well it brings a new dimension to an art form. “Nathaniel has a piece where we have these huge red fabric ties, probably like 10-15 feet long,” Monson said. “They are attached to the front row of the audience and the dancers use them to make this extreme Cat’s Cradle. It’s fascinating.”
The concert also promises rich variation in its emotional range as well as its artistic range. “There are some extremes and a lot in between,” Monson said. “It’s kind of a nice, balanced concert in that way. My piece is more lighthearted. I think I’m mostly just glad that there is a lot more variety than usual. And I think, again, that part of that is collaboration. Collaboration pulls you to different places.”
Tickets and Show Details
Performance Dates and Times: March 22-23 | 7:30 p.m. and March 23 | 2 p.m.
Location: Dance Studio Theatre – 169 Richards Building (RB)
Price: $7
Tickets: Available in person at the BYU HFAC or Marriott Center Ticket Office, by phone at (801) 422-2981 or online at byuarts.com
dancEnsemble program