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An Inconvenient Dance


How do we interact with the world, and how does it interact with us? And in what ways are the resulting tensions and connections revealed? These were the questions posed in the Dance Theatre Group (DTG)'s provocative fall concert, An Inconvenient Dance.

With a nod to the 2006 Al Gore documentary An Inconvenient Truth, the multimedia-rich performance took a sometimes humorous, often poignant approach to timely issues such as manmade and natural disasters, excess and waste. 

The evening began with a pre-show screening of Lessons of Darkness, a 1992 film that travels across the oil fields of post-Gulf War Kuwait. Next, the dancers explored the human causes of—and sometimes wry or quirky responses to—catastrophic events. The concert closed with Unmoored (Love Letter to New Orleans), a lauded, multimedia-saturated work created in New Orleans in the months following Hurricane Katrina.  [Article continues below.]


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  • Dawn Springer, postgraduate fellow in dance, and Sarah Skaggs, director of dance, perform an excerpt from Skaggs' “Dances for Airports.”
    Dances for Airports
  • Emily Hughes '13, Layla Meyer '12, Ariel Graham '11 and Kevin Pinero '12 imagine low-flying planes above their heads.
    Watching Planes
  • Ariel Graham '11, who majors in theatre arts and French, performs in the evening's opening piece.
    Ariel Graham '11
  • Students perform “Tensing,” a piece by New York choreographer Bill Young. The dancers are (in alphabetical order): Lia Brown '12, James Cousins '14, Hannah Garrett '14, Ariel Graham '11, Emily Hughes '13, Carrie Johnson '11, Kaitlyn Jurewicz '13, Layla Meyer '12 and Kevin Piñero '12. 
    Tensing
  • Like opera singers, dancers must be able to act. In “Tensing,” the students get a chance to showcase their dramatic abilities.
    Mayhem Ensues
  • Katherine Leibel '12 (front) and Lia Choyce '11 demonstrate the strength of a mother's influence.  
    O Superman
  • Choreographed by Director of Dance Sarah Skaggs, “O Superman” draws fire from the Laurie Anderson song of the same name.
    All Together Now
  • Dancers perform a work by Dawn Springer, postgraduate fellow of dance. They are (in alphabetical order): Juliet Baker '14, James Cousins '14, Ariel Graham '11, Emily Hanrahan '12, Constance Harris '13, Sarah Koch '14, Molly Leach '14, Melissa O'Sickey '14, Kevin Piñero '12 and Amanda Power '11.
    Dreams of Flight
  • While Dickinson's spring dance concert will feature student-choreographed events, the annual fall concert features works by professional choreographers. Above, students prepare for imaginary takeoff in Dawn Springer's “Dreams of Flight.”
    Ready for Takeoff
  • Emily Hanrahan '12 and James Cousins '14 contemplate a leap of faith.
    James Cousins '14
  • How do birds prepare for flight? Dawn Springer imagines that it looks something like this.
    Ready to Fly
  • “Unmoored (A Love Letter to New Orleans)” addresses the great loss and love experienced by those affected by Hurricane Katrina. It premiered at the Kennedy Center in 2006.
    Unmoored
  • “Unmoored” is currently touring the country. This performance of the work was made possible through an Environmental and Education Fund Grant from the Center for Sustainability Education.
    Cross-Disciplinary
  • These students obviously have something on their minds. We bet you know what it is.
    Water on the Brain
  • Jillian Dunbar '14 and Molly Leach '14 (front, right) offer a tribute to post-Katrina New Orleans.
    Impassioned Appeal
  • The video used in this dance was shot by Patrik Widrig, co-founder of New York's Pearson Widrig Dance Theater.
    Moving Images
  • A flurry of water bottles ushers in the end of the show. The bottles were collected by the dancers.
    Hitting the Bottle
Dawn Springer, postgraduate fellow in dance, and Sarah Skaggs, director of dance, perform an excerpt from Skaggs' “Dances for Airports.”Prev ImageNext Image

According to Director of Dance Sarah Skaggs, pieces such as these address not only the inconveniences we all must endure in order to maintain a sustainable lifestyle, but also the role of art and artists in trying times. She said: “Martha Graham offered historical perspective when she said, ‘You do not realize how the headlines that make daily history affect the muscles of the human body.’ ”

An Inconvenient Dance opened Friday, Nov. 19 at 8 p.m. in the Mathers Theatre (Holland Union Building) and continued Nov. 20 at 8 p.m. and Nov. 21 at 2 p.m. The concert was presented by DTG and the Department of Theatre & Dance with support from the Center for Sustainability Education.

By MaryAlice Bitts Jackson
Photos by A. Pierce Bounds '71