The first time members of the dance company Gallim Dance visited IU this fall, they worked with students on bookending sections of their piece, “Spill.” This was part one of a collaborative residency program that is connected with the company’s performance at IU.
“It’s really nice seeing how much they’ve grown from that first class we taught in August until now,” Paul Vickers, one of the visiting instructors, said. “They’ve digested the information, and you can see that they’re more curious or maybe they’re allowing themselves to be curious and that’s so beneficial as an instructor.”
Gallim Dance will perform at 8 p.m. Friday in the IU Auditorium. The event is taking place in partnership with the Department of Theatre, Drama and Contemporary Dance and includes these residencies with dance students.
Maria Talbert, managing director at the IU Auditorium, said she is pleased to be partnering with the department in presenting such a groundbreaking ensemble performance.
“IU Auditorium loves to present artists who are innovators in their fields, and Gallim Dance at the forefront of contemporary dance, pushing boundaries in unique and thrilling ways,” Talbert said in an email. “We are in a unique position to connect IU students with world-class artists so they might learn and grow from their expertise.”
In the days preceding the performance, two members of the company, Vickers and Daniel Walczak, led a workshop with students, helping them build on the pieces set previously.
“In some ways, it’s like a pre-show Q&A, but on a deeper level in that they get to understand the movement without maybe the questioning,” Vickers said. “When we do share our work onstage, there’s a greater conversation and appreciation.”
Students were encouraged to move freely in the vast studio space in the School of Public Health during the latter part of the workshop, which took place Thursday morning.
The students participating practiced the movements in the style they were taught, sometimes all at once, sometimes in turn while the rest of the large group watched. As they completed a cycle, their peers applauded.
Walczak said it is a common pattern for Gallim to visit institutions prior to a show and allow students to see the connection between how movement is practiced and how it looks onstage.
“We’ll come before and set something, so it’s more like a dialogue between the company and the students,” Walczak said. “It’s really nice for them to see what the work looks like, then relate it back to something they worked on in class, learning the rep themselves. It gives them a little more to grab onto.”
Vickers said there will be three parts to the performance Friday. The dancers will be celebrating the history of Gallim, incorporating the middle section of the piece the instructors set for students back in August, “Spill.” The other two pieces are a classic Gallim work, “Pupil,” and a more recent production, “Boat.”
Elizabeth Shea, director of the Contemporary Dance Program, said she hopes the workshops help students experience new ways to create movement and model professionalism in the dance world they are about to enter.
“It’s a great opportunity for all to experience a cutting-edge approach to dance-making,” Shea said. “I’m excited to see how this whole year of ‘Gallim’ comes together — from our fall residency, to the performance of ‘Spill,’ and now to this second residency and seeing the company perform tomorrow night. We will also have the opportunity to meet and chat with Director Andrea Miller, which is also exciting.”
Talbert agreed that the opportunities to work with members of the company and learn from the dancers themselves are valuable.
“Andrea Miller, the choreographer and artistic director, creates work that is extremely athletic, theatrical and emotional, all at once, and we are excited to be able to showcase her work on our stage,” Talbert said.
This performance is just one of many left in the auditorium’s lineup for the year, and Talbert said she looks forward to how the rest of the shows are received by patrons.
“We have been most encouraged by the IU Student and community response to our productions,” Talbert said. “We have welcomed so many people through our doors and had such a successful season so far, and we cannot wait to see how the rest of the year plays out.”
