Rhonda Rooker and Professor Raymond Robinson, Dance

Alexander Calder, one of the greatest creators of sculpture in the twentieth century, was the first American artist of his generation to win an international reputation for his achievements. He spent his lifetime creating works labeled “mobiles” and “stabiles”, according to the size and permanency of each sculpture. He used various materials including sheet metal, bolts, and paint, as well as wire and wood. His artwork can be found in major museums throughout the world, and is installed in urban spaces in the United States and abroad.

As a dance major, I have learned to use different stimuli for choreography. Choreographers create movement inspired by concepts, music, poetry, books, videos, and certainly works of art. After finishing a small assignment in composition class using one of Alexander Calder’s mobiles, I realized that Calder created a sense of kinesthetic awareness through his sculpture. In essence, many of his sculptures look like they are dancing. In particular, his mobile entitled “Whale” vaguely resembles a human form spiraling through its core while reaching out from its limbs. This mobile and others he created inspire endless movement ideas for a choreographic work. I decided to investigate his work further to create a more formal piece of choreography to be performed in concert.

In order to begin my task, I chose six dancers to work with and divided them into three groups. I chose to work with them as a solo, duo and trio. I felt that the number of dancers in each group created a complicated visual effect. Each group of dancers worked with a different sculpture to inspire movement. First, I showed each dancer their particular sculpture and allowed them to create a short solo phrase based on what they saw. I then created a phrase of my own which represented elements found in all three sculptures. After teaching this to the dancers, we developed variations of all of the movement.

To represent Calder’s sculpture, we created what I call human sculpture to resemble elements from the original. If in the original there were sharp spiny pieces of steel sticking up from the main body, we simulated it with an arm or a leg. Each group created four or five of these human sculptures to repeat during parts of the piece. Since each group danced separately from one another, the groups waiting their turn used these human sculptures as transitions between movements. They held each shape still for about 30 seconds and then changed into the next and then the next. The stillness within all of the movement really captured the essence of Alexander Calder’s work.

Since I worked with sculpture on this project, I felt an importance in creating a very strong spatial separation between the three groups and the three sculptures they represented. This was difficult due to the limitations of the stage. I could not do much with lighting and the lack of fly rigging did not allow me to hang fabric from the ceiling. I then decided to go from the floor up. I built two pipe-like sculptures using sprinkler PVC pipe and spray paint. They covered about ten feet in length and in parts stood as high as four feet. On stage these looked just like old rusty pipes, and they separated the dancers beautifully. I also enjoyed that the pipes did not hinder the audience’s view of the dancers.

I chose music for this piece before I started choreographing, though I did not actually use it as a stimulus. I wanted the music to be more of an accompaniment to the movement, allowing it to stand on its own. For this purpose I chose Philip Glass and his piano piece “Mad Rush.” It is a minimalist form of music, very simplistic and repetitious, and it fit with the choreography very well.

I costumed the dancers in different shades of gray leotards and gray dance pants. I wanted them to have the freedom to move, not feeling restricted, but I also wanted their costumes to resemble the look of steel. When adding the lighting, the costumes really played their part well.

When my dancers performed this piece on stage, I felt a wonderful sense of accomplishment for the task I set out to achieve. I felt that I stayed true to my project and I was very pleased with the final result. My dancers worked very hard in both rehearsals and in the performances and the finished piece of choreography displayed a sense of maturity in my choreography skills. A woman I met, who attended the concert, had previously studied Calder’s work and knew the sculptures I had used during the process of choreographing. She enjoyed the piece and wished me luck in my further endeavors.

Overall, this was an invaluable learning experience for me. I have just graduated with my bachelor’s degree and am continuing on with my masters in fine arts in modern dance. I plan to use this experience in further choreographic projects and possibly to develop even more the symbiosis between Calder’s sculpture and dance.