Performance Project: Dancing Chavela Vargas
Course Description
Summary
Chavela Vargas has often been called “la voz de México”. An iconoclastic figure, a publicly queer woman singing rancheras and comporting with radical artists and activists, her life is a study in refusing to submit to social norms and embracing the power of art as an act of solidarity, resistance and love.
In this course, students will participate in a rehearsal process that will result in a dance performance work anchored in the music, history and impact of Chavela Vargas. This course is an opportunity to engage in the active creative research of the instructor, to learn technically demanding movement material, and to explore improvisation and other means to contribute to the process of making work. Through this course we will create an original dance work that will be performed towards the end of the term.
This course is intended for students who want to engage with physically complex and rigorous dancing, who are interested in improvisation, who want to further explore the creative process in making dance work, and who have some experience in the translation of technical and aesthetic ideas into performance.
IMPORTANT: This course may include movement material that involves touch and weight sharing with partners. If you have any concerns about this aspect of the course, please reach out to the instructor prior to enrolling to discuss.
Learning Outcomes
- Students will learn technically challenging movement material.
- Learn set and improvised choreography that will be performed at the end of the term.
- Gain experience in performing contemporary dance work rooted in research of a historical figure.
- Gain experience in participating in a focused and intensive rehearsal process.
Prerequisites
Students will be selected by a live audition process that will take place on Tuesday, May 13 from 7pm-8pm in VAPA E320. Please sign up in advance by emailing the faculty member.
Please contact the faculty member : levigonzalez@bennington.edu
Corequisites
Dance or Drama Lab Assignment if students are registered for 4 or more credits in designated dance courses.