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Dance party

Posted on | December 11, 2008 | 62 views |

 In a small mirrored studio in the basement of Sullivant Hall, a group of dancers forms a wobbly circle and begins to warm up.

The music is piercing, a mix of plaintive Celtic wails and urgent Afro-centric percussion, and suddenly one of the dancers cuts loose. He takes to the floor with a wild energy — twisting and rolling his entire body, a look of pure joy on his face…

It’s not the kind of dancing you might expect to see at a typical Ohio State dance class. But then again, Jeremy is not your typical dancer: He has spina bifida and uses a wheelchair for most of his waking hours.

Jeremy is part of an eclectic assortment of dancers who comprise the ARC Dance Company, led by Professor David Covey from Ohio State’s Department of Dance. For the past five years, Covey and a handful of undergraduate and graduate dance students have been teaching adults with a range of physical and mental challenges how to express themselves through dance.

“We’re dealing with a pretty broad spectrum of people and challenges: Down syndrome, autism, spina bifida, fetal alcohol syndrome,” noted Covey, who serves as production coordinator for the dance department and teaches dance lighting, production and composition.

“Some don’t talk, some will almost literally talk your head off. Some can’t raise their arms above their heads. I just let them move in whatever capacity they can.”

He calls his approach a kind of  “structured improv:” Rather than trying to teach set pieces or choreograph movements for the students, he lets them move to their own internal rhythms and gradually gain both confidence and range of motion.

It’s a learning curve for both dancer and student, he says. “I got Jeremy out of his wheelchair last quarter and I was afraid I’d break him,” he said. “But now he’s rolling around, he’s break dancing, it’s really beautiful.”

Covey’s emphasis on freeform dance turns the weekly class into a whirl of energy and excitement that can only be described as infectious. People walking by in the hallway often stop and hover in the doorway to watch; some have even been known to join in.

To Jackie Boyle, art director for Franklin County’s ARC Art Studio for adults with disabilities, the class is nothing short of extraordinary. Boyle is the one who contacted Covey five years ago to see about doing a dance video with her clients — all of whom, she said, love to dance — and she says she still can’t quite believe her luck at how well it all worked out.

“They look forward to this every week,” she said, watching a man named Aaron shimmy his way around the floor, eyes closed and arms raised above his head. “It has expanded their awareness, helped bring them out of their shells. And it’s so beautiful to hang out with them.”

For Covey, this labor of love brings personal satisfaction as well as a renewed sense of excitement and energy to his craft. “These people bring pure joy to every situation, they are there to move and they are totally un-self-conscious,” he said. “To see them use their abilities in the range they have with so much passion really affects our dance students and helps them find new reasons to dance.”

The continuing success of the class has spurred Covey to seek opportunities for expansion. He envisions working with artists in the music department to bring instruments out to the main facility on Johnstown Road so that less mobile clients can create their own music — music that would then be made available for Covey’s dancers.

“I decided when I started this whole thing that it wasn’t going to be a one-shot deal for me, because I saw what a big deal it was for them and how it was making changes for them physically and emotionally,” he said.

Student perspective
Anna Reed, the academic program coordinator for the dance department and recent MFA graduate, worked with David Covey and the ARC dance class last year.

The spirit of the group was captivating and I was excited by their emphasis on developing individual movement styles. My first class with them, I was excited to be there, and the dancers were incredibly welcoming, but I knew nothing about the class structure or content.

I had to learn how group members relate to each other, who is OK with touch and who shies away from it, how each dancer moves and needs to be challenged to break out of movement habits, who needs to be cheered on and encouraged to “solo.”

We spend a lot of time creating movement and learning from each other. We follow the leader, dance in partners, move from a particular body part, travel through space, go to the floor and use music to inspire a variety of movement qualities. The dancers really like to rock out, so we always jam to Tina Turner.

These dancers have taught me a lot about my own movement habits and have really loosened me up. Their joy and commitment to our work remind me every class of why I love to dance and that I am blessed to be able to experience movement in this way.  They have taught me to be a better teacher — to really watch my students and allow their innovation to guide the class.

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