WWU dancers perform work inspired by Western Gallery exhibition
BELLINGHAM – In conjunction with the simultaneous exhibitions of In the Open and The Neighbors, WWU Dance students will perform an original work “Public/Private” in the Western Gallery at 7 p.m. on Wed., Feb. 22. The evening will include live performance by WWU dance faculty and students inspired by Arne Svenson’s photographs, followed by a screening Liz Gerring's glacier performed in 2013 by WWU dance students. The performance is free and open to the public.
“The performer's body is a site of public/private duality,” says WWU Senior Dance Instructor Susan Haines. “Dancers train and perform under constant ‘surveillance’ from teachers and audiences and willingly step into the gaze of watchful eyes.” She and her students responded to questions posed by the works in the Gallery: how does a performer negotiate what is seen, what is revealed as they place themselves under scrutiny? How do audiences negotiate the dancer’s body as object or subject? Has technology and social media marginalized the live body by transforming us all into a static image?
The Western Gallery is located in the Fine Arts Building on the campus of WWU. Directions, contact information, and details of the performance and concurrent exhibitions can be found at westerngallery.wwu.edu. Parking information is available at cfpa.wwu.edu/parking. For more information, call the Western Gallery at 360-650-3939.