"I would believe only in a God that knows how to dance. "
~Friedrich NietzscheAmy
Hansemann is a bolt of kinetic lyricism, her body all lilting and
sinewy. She turns about the room, full of doe-eyed expectation and
hope. That is, until piles of clothes start hitting her in messy blobs
of color and fabric. Hansemann's fellow dancers throw piles of clothes
at her with theatrical disdain. Soon she's covered in t-shirts, pants,
lingerie and socks, until her airy dance is anchored by the weight and
she's carried off in defeat.
See what happens when you have just too much stuff? You get buried in it, weighed down, and can't dance your dance.
Hansemann and 10 of her fellow dancers in the Detroit Dance Collective
of Royal Oak are rehearsing "The Power of Green", the modern dance company's March
13 show highlighting environmental themes. The company is an
intergenerational mélange of artists, several of whom made the decision
to enjoy the full bloom of their talents in the Detroit area rather
than more glamorous locales.
That includes artists like Ashley McGill, 23, of Flat Rock, who graduated from Detroit Public Schools and majored in dance at Ohio State University,
only to return after graduation. It was the company's improvisational
and modern take on dance that attracted McGill, who was heartened to
know that "this kind of work is going on here, and just to come back
and discover that it was here all along."
In the case of the Detroit Dance Collective, it's been 29 years
since it was first founded by several area dancers as a way of bringing
modern dance to the Detroit area. One of the founding members, Barbara
Selinger, still heads the company as artistic director and performs as
a dancer.
"I just think we really have something special to offer," says
Selinger. "It's about humanity. People need to connect with each other
and their community, and I think they can do it through the arts and by
coming to see the DDC."
As some of the dancers acknowledge, however, bringing people in the
Midwest region to the arts is an uphill battle, one compounded by the
lack of arts education and awareness. So
while the scene may be rich, and the artists stocked with talent, it
often goes unnoticed in a region known more for leathery tough
autoworkers and beer-serving bowling alleys than dance companies.
"I hate that it's so underground," McGill says of the art scene. "You sort of have to be in it to know about it."
Susan Clayton, 47, of Royal Oak has danced with DDC for 19 years,
but still fights the perception of some in the area that she can't
possibly be a "real" artist. "When we say we're professional dancers,
they don't realize it's a legitimate career," she says. "This is what
we're doing with our lives."
Adds 26-year-old dancer Lisa LaMarre of Royal Oak, "I get upset. People think I'm a student."
Like the demographic of the company itself, performers are a mix of
ages and backgrounds, few of whom are simply looking for something
different to do on a Friday night. The audience is mostly made up of
returning fans.
Dancer David Guzman, 55, a member of DDC for 22 years, is still
optimistic that things will change. "Detroit needs the culture," he
says. "It still needs to develop, and it is, but not to the point where
it's New York or Chicago. Detroit's not that but it could be." But with
a local economy taking regular belly flops into layoffs and
cost-cutting, even trying to promote the arts is hard. "The potential
is there, it's just a matter of getting people to see it," says Guzman,
a Southgate resident.
Selinger's latest work, "The Power of Green", will touch on a timely
topic while attempting to demonstrate how an art form as abstract as
modern dance can communicate real truths about our society. In the true
spirit of modern dance, Selinger regularly integrates other art forms
like sculptures and slide-shows to create a multimedia experience.
It's a pity then, she laments, that her small company is feeling
especially pinched by cuts in grant funding, donations, and audiences
when it offers such a full experience.
But the economy makes the
future uncertain. "Communicating with people is what I do and what I
hope to continue to do," she says. "We will be here, but perhaps in a
different way."
A fact not readily noticed in widespread economic downturns is that
for all the bloodletting bigger companies are doing that makes
headlines, it's the smaller organizations that ultimately feel it more.
For small companies like the DDC, funding cuts don't just mean layoffs;
they mean the difference between life and death.
The dancers of the DDC, who number nearly a dozen, clearly feel that
sense of urgency. That's why a large chunk of time is dedicated to
youth education; today's students are tomorrow's audiences.
"It's
so important that we get into the school and teach them while they're
young," says LaMarre, the company's education director.
The
DDC goes to elementary schools to introduce a world of movement to an
increasing number of sedentary youth. "It's a different experience
than sitting in front of the computer or a TV," says Selinger. "It's
very rewarding work to work with kids."
Currently, it's the company's education programs and
artist-in-residence programs that are financially sustaining it. The
hope is that the company can ride out the tough economy to celebrate
its 30th anniversary next year with a slew of special performances.
"I want to make it into a year that says this is the past, this is
the present, and this is the future," says Selinger. "The
[performances] will reflect that." She's optimistic, but realistic,
about the company's future. While she doesn't know how her company will
emerge from the latest economic crisis, she believes there needs to be
a long-term sea change with how arts are perceived and funded in the
region.
"There needs to be more focus on the smaller companies," says Selinger. "We're the ones really keeping the arts alive."
The Detroit Dance Collective of Royal Oak will present The Power of Green at 8
p.m. Friday, March 13, at the Ford Community & Performing Arts
Center in Dearborn. Tickets are $22 for adults, and $18 for students
and seniors. The Power of Green is supported by the Michigan Council for Arts and Cultural Affairs and Oakland County Arts, Culture & Film. For more information call (810) 444-4553 or visit www.detroitdancecollective.org.
Megan Pennefather is a freelance writer living in Royal Oak.