A Dance Score: A response by Hope Houston

Photo courtesy of Hope Houston

Pictured: Hope Houston (dancer and choreographer), Seema Patil, Nicole , Kyndall Evans, Ashley Bryant, Ava Maier, Anjali Bhagat, Hayley Morgan, Annie Morgan, Armony Nichols, Alexa Cox, Cate Kiso, Sophia Tarpey, Natalie Ashkar, Marilyn Lercel, Jordan Michalicek, Sarah Vaidyan

Work Title: Dear Violence, 2019

Show Date: March 9, 2019

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We turn right. Right. Everything must be right.

Right and 

Lift

Lift, but only those with privilege may lift their entire bodies. Move gracefully, vividly. 

white.

white is gracefully moving towards the right. Strength and power directs white bodies to the right and utilizes that power to ground themselves in a strong, deep plié.

Rooted.

Rooted in movement, structure, and space that is not their own. 

They raise their arms and move without acknowledging the 

Black Bodies

Black Bodies that moved, explored and built

Bodies that are alive and well

Alive with amounts of energy white bodies may never inhabit

They move together in unison

Unison Unity

Although in unison there are two different energies: 

Grounded, Restricted, Strong

Free, Technical, Traditional

Grande jété

Move from one place to another

The movement allows there to be mobility

Mobility is accessible only for some

Others, they must stay in place

They are forced to stay in place

Mobility is limited

They depend on one another to continue to build their presence

A Presence that is grounded

It exists everywhere

Speed intensifies

Changes the discourse

Black comes forward

Downstage

Down, they continue to ground their presence 

  taking the lead 

claiming their space

Movement changes

There is a separation

Until everyone is in unison again

White bodies follow the movement of Black bodies

But why?

To steal

To love

To give space?

I move as an entity that carries the weight of both

I ground myself in the movement of the Black Bodies

I have learned and partaken in colonized movement

I have dreamed to be in the shoes of the white dancer

I have dreamed to be in the shoes of the black dancer

I cannot do either

So what do I do

What does it mean to inhabit these two identities

Moving with or for one group over the other

Taking up space 

or

claiming space

Tendu means tense

Tendu

Simple move in Ballet but it’s meaning describes what I embody

Trained in Ballet

My body has been colonized and continued to keep this practice alive

My body recognizes it may not be welcomed in Ballet spaces

I recognize that Ballet is not the foundation

White westernized dance is not the foundation

It is not rooted in anything

whiteness tries to claim the moves

the energy

the technicality

of Black movement

Foriegn invasive plants impact the water, the quality of life for that particular plant

Entering spaces and claiming territory that is not theirs to claim

white bodies in unison with Black bodies

white bodies claiming the movement Black bodies

We should not claim space that is not ours

unison does not need to be occurring throughout the entire piece

White bodies exit through the left wing

Black bodies claim space

The transition is a learning moment

Appreciation

Acknowledging the space that was taken up

Black bodies hold power

Power as their movement becomes lifted

No longer restricted

But embraced

Genuine

Original

I learn through their movement

I take steps back

Their bodies hold power

Their movement is present

Moving closer together

One body on top of the other 

The entirety of the dance floor is covered corner to corner with radiant black bodies moving

Moving in the way that speaks from their experience

          their culture

Blackness is contemporary

Whiteness is exclusionary but holds the ability of reflection

Inner reflection of what may be wrong

Still

I am

I see myself, the identities I hold

The stories I carry

The movement I produce

I claim my story and experience

unlearn colonialist practices and appreciate cultures

move with intention and the love to learn from those who differ you

that is the contemporary practice of dance i will practice moving forward

claiming my story centerstage

*********************

Hope Houston is a 20 year old, biracial second-year student at the University of Chicago studying History and Critical Race & Ethnic Studies with a minor in Education & Society. She trained in dance from the age of 2-19 at Dimensions Dance Center in her hometown, St. Louis, MO. While attending the University of Chicago, she continued to learn about dance through an academic lens. She is interested in how black bodies are portrayed in dance and through movement, as someone who danced as a black woman in a white space growing up. Hope hopes to incorporate her passion for dance into her current studies by understanding its history and unpacking some of the racist practices embedded in westernized dance.