Jennifer Knight Dills intertwines history and dance to create her masters concert “Entertaining Muses” By Sara Jarrett Oregon Daily Emerald a dance is so often labeled /m a success or failure by AM what’s seen on the stage, JL X but artists like Jennifer Knight Dills argue a deeper look is necessary to find the true mag ic of Terpsichore the muse of choreography. “What is important to me, is the work that led up to this [con cert],” Knight Dills said of her masters thesis concert titled “En tertaining Muses: Dance Reflec tions and Revelations,” which will be performed Nov. 12 and 13 in the Dougherty Dance Theatre. The concert as a whole is about contemporizing his torical aesthetics, in an attempt at synthe sizing ideas,” Knight Dills said. The evening-length performance includes two historical master piece solos per formed by Knight Dills. She has also choreographed four original works based on ideologies of three historical modern dance masters. The solos are “Two Ecstatic Themes” — originally choreo graphed by Doris Humphrey in 1931 — and Valerie Bettis’ 1943 piece titled The Desperate Heart. Universi ty dance professor Janet Descut ner, who is a certified dance re constructor and Knight Dills’ thesis advisor, reconstructed those two dances for this week end’s event. “It wouldn’t have happened without the relationship we forged,” Knight Dills said of Des cutner’s role as an artistic direc tor for the two solos. While performing the recon structed pieces, Descutner said Knight Dills has allowed her own voice to shine through by exploring contemporary themes and relationships, and by finding how the movement uniquely res onates within each performer. Bettis choreographed “The Desperate Heart,” for example, in response to the destruction of World War II, but Knight Dills has been able to connect those movements to contemporary is sues. The choreographer likened some of the gestures used to those of a person rubbing needle tracks on his or her arm. “Jennifer is examining the crises of today, like drugs and AIDS,” Descutner said. Dance, she added, is not “an antique or preserved historic monument the way sculpture is, but a living thing,” and Knight Dills is exploring how “the hu man condition repeats itself over time.” Jwo of Knight Dills’ original pieces, “Evenings... Yesl” and “In moto perpetuo,” are based on Humphrey’s theoretical and choreographic principles. Both draw from Knight Dills’ studies with Leslie Main, director of the Humphrey Foundation in the United Kingdom. Knight Dills studied with Main at The Place dance studio in London for an intense two-week workshop in July of 1998. “Evenings... Yes! ” explores the fleeting nature of a quiet evening that offers a taste of ease before that sense is stripped avvay from you, Knight Dills ex plained. The dance is also demonstrative of the sibling relation ship Knight Dills has with her two sisters. Though it has be come about this per sonal triad in her fam ily, “it’s ostensibly about the movement quality,” she said. The piece utilizes the fall and recovery principle of Humphrey’s technique. Knight Dills’ attention to the choreographic process during her work on “Evenings... Yes! ” gave at least one dance student a new perspective on her craft. “Jennifer talked a lot about re flection in every sense of the word,” said Laura Raucher, a third year graduate student in dance science. Raucher said that her previous experiences have been “product driven,” rather than using the process to achieve originality. “I wanted to approach dance making differently,” Knight Dills said. Her own experience with choreographers interested in anything other than the actual performance is limited, she noted. “I usually wonder, does this guy even think I have a brain,” she mused, referring to some pre vious artists she’s worked with. Knight Dills said she is adamant in making her dancers invested in the dance in such a way that it’s as much theirs as it is hers. “I give my dance to [the dancers], then we give it to the viewers,” she said. Two ways Knight Dills said All “Muses” photos by Cathrine Kendall Emerald Dancer Sparrow Hall (front right) rehearses with other dancers for “Entertaining Muses: Dance Reflections and Revelations. ” The per formance opens Friday night and a second performance is scheduled for Saturday. (Cover photo): Emilie Lavin. she achieved this goal was through journal writing and im provisation. In both “Evenings... Yes!” and the Bettis-inspired “Elegiac,” she asked her dancers to write down their thoughts as an emo tional launching point to be used in personalizing the coach ing process. Knight Dills then took aspects from each dancer during the improv sessions to build movement phrases, she explained. “Elegiac,” which literally means expressing sorrow, is just that. The piece deals with can cer and how the disease has an impact on everyone. When sta tistics say one in nine women will get breast cancer, an artistic statement must be made, Knight Dills said. “It’s a haunting piece.. .with so much richness, emotionally and expressively,” she said, de scribing “Elegiac.” The psychological framework that permeates Bettis’ work pro vided a bridge for Knight Dills to harness the emotional intensity of “Elegiac” in actual move ment. “It’s an unrelenting kind of race,” Knight Dills said. The race is a physical one, in that there is a backwardness and for wardness theme to the move ment, but there is also the race of life against death. Inspired by modem dance pi oneer Isadora Duncan and draw ing on her experiences with Duncan scholar Kay Bardsley, during Bardsley’s residency at the University in 1997-1998, Knight Dills choreographed the dance titled “Signatures,” which she said explores “water proper ties of wave rhythm and reflec tion as a movement motif.” “Entertaining Muses: Dance Reflections and Revelations” is performed this Friday and Sat urday evening at 8. Tickets cost $3 and will be available at the door. Dougherty Dance Theatre is located on the third floor of Gerlinger Annex, 1484 Universi ty St. .■>“ 1 umiu tlu;it j w II Kn\ I )!tu'v '4(i.4! ‘I 1 r j*. I Ml I k k iN 1 46.4 Ml' Hull ( i-mit t 007594 Cafe Paradiso fi coffee house in the European tradition Corner of Oliue 6 Broadway on the downtown matt • 484-9933 Relax on our couches to study or chat w/ friends. Enj Grab ^ ^ am oraglas! L for I cofree s U — nightly entertainment from local musicians. Open mic, Monday nights. No cover charge Monday - Thursday nights. a bite to eat, or have a beer (on tap) or a glass of wine. expires 12/31/99