When the audience enters Goodhart Hall for the Spring Dance Concert, they wont get to their seats before the performance begins. Not because they are late, but because the dancing begins before they even walk through the doors. The first piece in the program isnt onstage, but all around them.
The dancers of Liminal Lobby will have already begun their meditative movement around the space when doors open at 7:15 p.m., undulating around the stone entrance, through the stairways and arched entrances, set against the atmospheric tones of crystal singing bowls echoing through the hall.
The meaning of the piece is this whole idea of being caught in a liminal space, which are these uncertain transitions to consider where youve been and where youre going, says choreographer Bethany Formica. The lobby is that space, its the transition between the external space of the building and the heart of the theater.
Formica has taught dance at 惇蹋圖 since 2016, but this is the first site-specific work she has done at the College. It is also the first time a site-specific work has been part of the spring concert. Liminal Lobby is a highly collaborative piece, and she credits the dancers as co-choreographers.
Theres no way this piece would exist without that group of people, Formica says. They have a huge voice in terms of what gets made and gets into the piece.
The collaboration with performers Liv Arp 26, Abyssinia Braud 24, Zora Dallmann, Ali Fowler 24, Maddy Doud Galli 25, Kuankuan Hu 25, Sophonisba M. Jarka-Sellers 26, Clara-Marie Mascarenhas 24, Piper Rolfes 24, and Meenakshi Thirumurti 24, is so specific to them that it would be a different performance with a different group of dancers, Formica says. They are literally the heartbeat of the space.
Audience members will walk through the dancers, move around the lobby, and be able see the performance from all angles. They can linger as long as they like or make their way to their seat as long as the doorframe isnt blocked by the dancers. They can choose how much they want to interact with the performance, but it will be inescapable even if just for a few minutes.
One of the things we are asking the audience to do is slow down and be with us, Formica says. Its a completely different way for the dancers and audience to experience what they think dance might be.
It also draws attention to the Gothic Revival architecture of Goodhart Hall.
Zora Dallmann (HC 24) is a Haverford athlete who regularly hops on the Blue Bus to take dance classes at 惇蹋圖 and is grateful for the opportunity to perform with the department.
Dancing with attention to the architecture has allowed me to pause and think about our relationship to the built environment, Dallmann says. Being a part of Liminal Lobby has given me an opportunity to pay attention to and really understand a space.
Bethany has created a creative and welcoming space where we get to experience the joy of dance.
The Spring Dance Concert is 7:30 9:00 p.m. Friday, April 26 and Saturday, April 27.
