Director’s Note
Welcome to Dancing in the Landscape at Loy Farm! We are delighted to have you join us for this unique experience that blends the art of movement with the drive for positive social change towards a more sustainable future. Our show features choreography created by Elon Dance faculty and students with a special focus on sustainability and our connection to our environment. Our mission is to create immersive experiences that help us connect with our surroundings, rethink our habits, inspire hope, and nurture our shared humanity. Through this, we aim to build sustainable systems for both the present and future.
In this concert, you’ll experience performances that explore themes of interconnectedness, symbiotic human relationships, our reliance on plastic, and the issue of environmental gentrification. Each dance carries profound underlying meanings, which are enhanced by the carefully chosen performance spaces they inhabit. Our production is site-specific, meaning that the location itself is a vital part of the choreography. We’re particularly excited to collaborate with Loy Farm this year as our host venue, and we look forward to showcasing our concert in this unique and meaningful setting. Thanks for coming!
Special Thanks
Department of Performing Arts, Office of Sustainability, Sustainability Scholars Program, Natalie Hart, Fred Rubeck, Heidi Jo Schiemer, Jen Guy Metcalf, Jessica Werfel, and Faculty and Staff at Loy Farm
Production Team
| Artistic Director | Renay Aumiller |
| Costume Coordinator | Heidi Jo Schiemer and Choreographers |
| Front-of-House Supervisor | David McGraw |
| House Manager | Lillian Chen |
| Poster Design | Sydney Dye |
Dances
Forbes20Tour “Place Matters”
Choreographer: Bre Forbes
“Environmental gentrification” is the process whereby the seemingly progressive discourse of urban sustainability is used to drive up property values and displace low-income residents.”- Miriam Greenberg, Susie Smith
“There is a disconnect between the need to tie environmental projects to planning for sustainable affordable housing.” -Miriam G., Susie S.
“The successes or failures of the projects are judged by their effects on the physical environment, not on whether they also “sustained” the original community. “ – Miriam G., Susie S.
For many of us, our local communities and neighborhoods were where we first learned to cultivate a real sense of community and culture. It is where we learned about our family’s history, and created many core memories that would contribute to the human beings we would grow to be over time. This piece (excerpt) exhibits the story of four teens who transition from living in a close knit community, enjoying and knowing one another deeply, to experiencing both the pros and cons of environmental gentrification: New places to create experiences such as more recreational spaces for young children to play and farmers markets to distribute better foods to old and new community members, beautification of local areas, separation/zoning, displacement, loss of access to previous resources, and a lesser quality of life for original community members.
Suggested Read: Miriam Greenberg and Susie Smith’s “”Environmental Gentrification””. Critical Sustainabilities.
*Special Note: I would like to personally extend a special thanks to Professor Robert Charest, Associate Professor of Environmental Studies and Chair of the Department of Environmental Studies, who is the designer/creator of the amazing site this dance takes place on. Thank you for the work you are doing and have done both at Elon and in the local communities. You are greatly appreciated!
Music Credit: Dlala Thukzin – 95 Unleaded
Costume Design: Bre Forbes
Dancers: Emily Aukamp, Ella Carver, Alydia Wheeler, Ella Stewart
Rehearsal Assistant: Katie Russo
Symbiosis
Choreographer: Emma Morris
Symbiosis is the interaction between two different organisms living in close physical association, normally to the advantage of both. This piece explores how this idea of symbiosis could translate into relationships between humans with the goal of creating long-lasting, sustainable relationships, and eventually a community that will pave the way for future generations.
Music Credit: Ólfaur Arnalds, Reykjavík Recording Orchestra, Mother Falcon
Costume Design: Emma Morris and Performers
Dancers: Anaya Agard, Natalie Dixon, Evelyn Ealey, Lilly Sears
Rehearsal Assistant: Aleah Newman
Shedding Our Plastic Skin
Choreographer: Kate Shugar
Costume Design: Kate Shugar
Dancers: Katie Bermes, Myah Shepherd
Synergy
Choreographer: Lilly Beaver
“Synergy” is meant to explore the ways in which we can have a symbiotic relationship and interdependency with nature, creating a circular cycle so that energy never dies, but is reabsorbed and transferred.
Music Credit: Nature Shift by Per Salomon
Costume Design: Lilly Beaver
Dancers: Maggie Adams, Hannah Burnett, Gabby Cataldo
Inescapable Rush
Choreographer: Maya Simmons
In previous choreography, I have explored the connection between human beings. For this work, I wanted to explore our connection with the earth, its waters, and how our actions have caused it to not be able to sustain its health. As my inspiration for this piece, the words of Hozier ring true: “Love, won’t you be, be as you’ve always been?”
Music Credit: Hozier; Langston Hughes
Costume Design: Maya Simmons and Performers
Dancers: Angelina DeMartino, Hannah Furey, Lindsey Goldstein, Anna Iglesias, Katey O’Connell, Lila Snodgrass
Three Trees
Choreographer: Eli Motley
This work involves the interconnectivity of space with respect to the audience, performer, and location. Space where the people and choreography are not just influenced but a causation of the land.
Dancers: Lucy Burk, Noelle Drummonds, Jessica Guidice, Winell Henriquez, Maddie Milner, Emma Vanags, Noah Macam, Sophie Verrecchia, Abigail Mulvaney
Choreographers
Dancers
