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ACDFA Rocked
My World! by dance major Michael Helland
The American College Dance Festival totally rocked! This year the festivities
were held up at Western Washington University in Bellingham, so it presented
the perfect opportunity for the UW to participate for our first time. As a
late-comer to dance, this was my first exposure to dance competition…
so I wasn’t sure what to expect. Each school submitted a piece to be
adjudicated for the Gala Concert, and only the best dances were chosen. Within
the scope of the festival, however, the competitive aspect was only a side
to the real fun to be had. We had such a blast; and for me, the experience
was quite transformative and reinvigorating. The ACDFA offers all of us a
new source of inspiration and excitement for dance.
ACDFA was a time for community building and artistic development, both as
a department and on an individual level. By venturing out of our environment,
and taking part in such an ambitious event, we became closer as a group and
gained a new appreciation for our art. Our clan was more than three dozen
strong and there were almost 30 colleges and universities congregating at
Western. A wide variety of classes and workshops was amassed from the talent
of all institutions involved, fostering a cross-pollenization for contemporary
dance culture. Each day we had a chance to take four classes. And each day,
signing up for the classes you wanted was a living nightmare! Initially I
kept thinking that the festival should have been at our school, but once I
realized that the Western dancers had to run registration I counted my lucky
stars that we were on the receiving end of their hospitality.
Besides waking up at 6am each morning to stand among a disorderly mob of irritable
crampy dancers awaiting registration, the toughest part of the festival was
deciding which classes to take! Each school brought its prize faculty and
the curriculum was based upon their individual foci, talent, and areas of
expertise; so there was truly something for everyone. Some students adopted
a diversity policy, deciding to take everything that they wouldn’t usually
get to take; stepping outside the world of ballet and modern. There were many
cultural dance forms offered, like Flamenco, Bavarian Schuplatter, Capoeira,
and Scottish Country Dancing among others. And if you didn’t feel like
sweating, you could think about dance too. There was a variety of theory workshops
like, The Dance Idea, Career Opportunities for the Performing Artist, Providing
Positive Feedback, and Labanotation. The diversity of dance forms and unique
workshop opportunities created a dynamic forum to explore the state of our
art. In academia it is too easy for some to forget the significance of our
art; dance is a form of cultural knowledge. It is important to step outside
of our preferred aesthetic orientations and strive for a diversity of perspective.
In ascribing to our personal preferences, without a true appreciation for
the depth and significance of cultural diversity, we run the risk of becoming
judgmental and potentially limiting our development as creative artists. ACDFA
was a great place to break out of your mold.
On the other hand, some students opted to focus primarily on specific disciplines
in order to enhance their areas of knowledge and expertise in contemporary
dance technique; meanwhile conditioning and strengthening their bodies. There
were several instructors offering modern technique, ranging from classical
to postmodern-based, including our special guests, the Montreal Danse Company
(when they say American College Dance Festival they mean North American –
good to know). There was also modern partnering, contact improvisation and
composition, organic technique and movement fundamentals, ballet technique,
and jazz. Besides actual dance classes there was a ton of physical conditioning
classes; like massage, conditioning for technique training, stretching class,
pilates and yoga. With so many offerings I pretty much got to take everything
I wanted to take. I took some risks and, of course, there were a few bad apples
in the mix! Attending the festival really deepened my sense of pride for UW
Dance. We all looked good in class, but moreover, many of us realized how
good we have it here. We have excellent teachers and are blessed with the
best studios in town. How easy it is to forget how lucky we are!
Overall, ACDFA reinvigorated my passion for dance by giving me some fresh
insight into the state of dance. The most formative aspect of the festival
is getting to watch an uncensored variety of contemporary choreography. There
were two informal concerts, two lengthy adjudication showings, dance for film,
and a final Gala Concert that culminated the best of the best. It is incredible
to see what people are doing and where dance is going. Seeing the work of
my colleagues around the region helped to crystallize the entire experience,
reminding me why we had come up here in the first place…After several
days of fun and frivolity I had completely forgotten that there was a competetive
aspect to the festival! UW Dance didn’t make it into the Gala Concert,
but this is not significant; it gives us something to strive for next time.
We are taking part in something phenomenal here guys… dance is culture
and culture is life. Everyone needs to do something like ACDFA, and next time
the festival nears we are so there, and eventually it will just have to be
here!
I dedicate this article to New Kids on the Block Fame.
