Vol. 38, No. 18

2-20-2008
By: Julia Harris

Statewide dance extravaganza returns to OSU after a 10-year absence

John Giffin has been on the move since he was a 4-year-old in tap shoes, and he has a hard time even sitting still long enough to talk about it.

It’s this simmering energy and long-term relationship with dance that make him the perfect person to coordinate this year’s OhioDance Festival, “Speaking of Moves,” which comes to Ohio State March 7-9.

It also helps that he’s vice president of OhioDance, the statewide service organization devoted to the promotion and support of movement arts.

“We try to encourage our students to become good dance citizens, and one of the best ways to do that is to find out what’s happening in dance across the state,” said Giffin, who has been teaching various forms of dance at Ohio State since 1981.

Giffin describes the annual OhioDance festival as “a moveable feast” that travels to different spots around the state. It last came to Ohio State about 10 years ago.

“The festival is a good way to connect with people in areas of the state you don’t get to very often,” Giffin said. “I see folks from Oberlin, from Cincinnati, from Bowling Green … It’s a good opportunity for networking.”

Jane D’Angelo, executive director of OhioDance and a former professional dancer, said there’s a swell of excitement building about the opportunity to come to the university for the three-day festival of classes, workshops, performances and auditions.

“This year everyone wanted to come to Ohio State and we got swamped with proposals from people wanting to offer workshops and classes,” she said.

“We were able to fit in about 40 and had to turn away roughly 20, which is unusual.”

Among the classes and workshops that were accepted, there is a wide variety of topics, dance styles and levels of experience. Two different age levels are offered, one for students aged 9-14 and one for those aged 15 to adult, and within those brackets are options for beginner, intermediate and advanced dancers.

Giffin, who has taught at several past festivals, said he appreciates the eclectic assortment of folks who take his classes. “I’ve taught swing dancing, which is very uplifting and a lot of fun, and last year I had maybe 40 people in that class, which is a bunch,” he said.

“I had just about everyone you could think of, from 10-year-olds to 80-year-olds, and that’s exactly the demographic we want.”

Even though Giffin isn’t teaching any classes this year, there are plenty of other Ohio State faces, both faculty and graduate students, to fill the gap.

Claire Porter, an Ohio State graduate with a master’s in dance, will be teaching a text and movement class and giving the keynote speech at the festival luncheon on March 8.

Susan Hadley, a dance professor and choreographer, will lead a class for all ages through moves from her “Whodunit?” ballet.

Susan Chess from the School of Music will conduct a class about movement response to musical elements.

Especially popular among non-ballet students, D’Angelo said, are the classes in world music and dance, such as hula and Tahitian dance, South Indian classical music, folk dance and street dance.

Additional programs include a free Young People’s Concert, during which students from Columbus City Schools will present selections from their dance programs.

There will be a demonstration and presentation at the new EMMA (Experimental Media and Movement Arts) Lab at ACCAD, $20 for non-members and $15 for members.

The OhioDance Showcase on March 8, which costs $15 for non-members and $12 for members, will feature choreography from some of Ohio’s most well-known and well-regarded dance companies, selections that were chosen by a panel of experts from outside the state. On the final day of the festival, there will be an open audition, during which dancers will perform in front of recruiters from various dance companies.

“Typically we have an average of 25-50 people who audition each year, and we do have dancers get chosen to be part of companies as a result of these auditions,” D’Angelo said.

Taken together, the three days of activity constitute the largest public forum for OhioDance, D’Angelo said, providing visibility and support for the art of dance.

“We offer Ohio eclectic classes and things they don’t see every day,” she said. “And we showcase what’s going on in dance around Ohio.”

Giffin agreed. “It’s a real shot of adrenaline for old guys like me, seeing those young kids up there doing their thing. Reminds me why I got into this business in the first place.”

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