The title "Linked Together" suggests that all people are connected in many ways, regardless of personal differences such as socioeconomic status or language. The dancers included myself, Arizona State University (ASU) dance students, as well as Boys and Girls Club dance program participants. For the concert, all dancers portrayed stories and concepts related to empowerment through emotionally charged movement, and thereby provided audience members with a visceral lens through which to see the transformative powers of dance. The data collected from this project through observations, surveys, and interviews suggest that constructive behaviors that are internalized through dance can flow seamlessly into the non-dance world, encouraging people to think creatively, collaborate with others, gain a sense of ownership, and feel empowered in all parts of life.
The research documented in this thesis may be methodologically described as a case study and the data collection methods were qualitative. Due to IRB limitations, the data set draws only from biweekly journal entries from a class of eleven students, in addition to the researcher’s observation of students. Data streams from student journal entries were analyzed and interpreted using common protocols. Guiding questions for the research study included: How do students currently understand and perceive partnering? How do leader and follower roles play a part in dance partnering? What commonalities of partnering exist between different dance forms? Data gathered from the research revealed that each individual student’s understanding and definition of dance partnering changed over the course of the semester and students found increased meaning in their partnering interactions.
Paseo was part of the Arizona State University’s (ASU) School of Film, Dance, and Theatre Emerging Artists I series, one of two performances that shared the stage with fellow graduate cohort member, Grace Gallagher. Paseo took place at ASU’s Margaret Gisolo Theatre, located at the Physical Education Building East. Performance dates were the following; fix punctuation Friday, November 6th, Saturday, November 7th, and Sunday, November 8th. Paseo had a fourth presentation on Saturday, December 5th, 2015, at Margaret Gisolo Theatre as part of the post-conference performance and dialogue event, “By The People.” The conference was hosted by the Participatory Government Initiative on the ASU Campus from December 3rd-5th, 2015.
The ASU School of Dance presents School of Dance LIVE!, September 7-9, with works by dance faculty, performed at Galvin Playhouse.
The ASU School of Dance presents Undergraduate Projects Showing, April 11-12, with works by dance undergraduate students, performed at Margaret Gisolo Dance Studio, PEBE 132.
The ASU School of Dance presents Fabrications, January 27-28, with works by undergrad students, performed in PEBW 139 and 140.
The ASU School of Dance presents Graduate Projects Showing, October 20-21, with works by dance graduate students, performed at Margaret Dance Studio, PEBE 132.
The ASU School of Dance presents Fall Graduate Concert, October 29, with works by MFA students Rebecca Blair Hillerby, Micaela Church, Emily Newman, Karryn Allen, Rebecca A. Ferrell, Ashlee Ramsey, John Leonard, and Randi L. Frost, performed at the Dance Studio Theatre.
The ASU School of Dance presents The Dance Annual, April 15-17, with works by dance faculty, alumni, graduate, undergraduate, and visiting artists, performed at Margaret Gisolo Dance Studio.