The Marcy Plavin Spring Dance Concert occurs annually in Schaeffer Theater and is composed of guest artists that are brought in by the Bates Dance Festival. Every two or three weeks, a new guest artist leads classes and rehearsal, providing exposure to many different movement qualities and teacher styles. The nationally recognized guest choreographers collaborate with students to make new work and sometimes even add onto current research the artist is doing with other students and individuals. There are four artists brought in and students have the choice to work with one and earn a half credit in dance or work with two to three and earn a one and half credit. The styles range from contemporary, jazz, modern, folkloric, breaking, hip hop, etc. The styles that are brought in every year are endless.
The commitment is intense. When these artists in residencies are on campus, student dancers are expected to not only attend their technique class on Mondays and Wednesdays, but also be at rehearsal Monday through Friday. The dancers eat, sleep, breathe the artist’s style and story for two weeks straight and don’t revisit it until tech week leading up to the performance the following weekend.
The concert is run by Assistant Visiting Professor of Dance Scott McPheeters, who is based in Biddeford, Maine. McPheeters created his own work that is an iterative representation of McPheeters’ research investigating the formation and mining practices of granite in the state of Maine. The first artist in residency was Jenna Riegel, who is a New-York-based dancer, performer, and professor. She currently teaches as an Assistant Professor in Theater and Dance at Amherst College and focuses on contemporary modern dance. Reigel’s piece focused on the current actions that have taken place by ICE agents in Minneapolis. Following her 2 weeks at Bates, Alfonso Cervera, a current Assistant Professor in Dance at The Ohio State University, came to teach a contemporary deer and hunter themed dance. The last artist in residency was Ogemdi Ude who is a Brooklyn-based dance, theater, and interdisciplinary artist. Ude’s work is about nostalgia, and the dances from the past that shape us today.
