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"Waves""Waves" portrays the struggle of women towards equality through empowerment and community. The piece is oriented around the center area, which serves as a safe and familiar space throughout the piece, representing comfort but restriction. The women are birthed from this space, they retreat to this space, and by making connections and gaining support they empower each other to push forward. This piece is heavily inspired by the 3 waves of feminism: The first section when the dancers come alive reflects when women advocated against their systematic inequality and restraint from having their voices heard. Here, the dancers try to push beyond their boundary, but are too weak to fight as individuals. During the second section the dancers begin again at their safe space, where they start to see each other, and share stories about their experiences, identity, and even abuses. During second-wave feminism, women focused on issues of equality and discrimination. It is by building a community of support that allows these dancers to keep fighting. During the third section the dancers showcase their empowerment and strength, and reflect third-wave feminism through their diverse movement. They continue to dance alongside and relate to each other, but because of their support they can move freely.
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allegianceAllegiance, is a contemporary work that questions the illusion of choice in our democratic society. The dancers are challenged to illustrate the struggle that comes with freedom and the journey to equality. When creating this piece, Liza was influenced by of our current political climate, and the irony behind the idea of choice in our nation. Living in an extremely diverse city forced her to consider the significant divide of accessibility to education, jobs and a comfortable standard of living.
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Advice“Advice” is a contemporary work performed to “The First Days of Spring,” by Noah and The Whale, and includes recorded commentary courtesy of friends and family. The theme of this piece is inspired by one of her abstract paintings where the quotes are written as text within the painting, surrounding a still figure. Both pieces resemble Liza’s time ending an important chapter in her life and starting a new one, a new “spring,” where she hopes to use these ideas to constantly learn in the future, reflect on the past, and pass down advice to those in need as well. This piece is meant to celebrate the dancers’ existence and inspire the audience through each message. This piece in particular has encouraged her to continue transforming concepts across mediums, such dance and fine art.
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The Walk “The Walk” is a contemporary piece illustrating the story of a homeless individual struggling with mental instabilities. My intended vision for The Walk was sparked by the song that the dancers will be performing to, entitled, Hot Coals, by Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros. We often hear the phrase, “walking on hot coals,” when someone is involved in a volatile situation, but I desired to further investigate this idea, and even contradict it. The phrase is derived from the practice known as Firewalking, which is the act of walking barefoot over a bed of embers, often signifying a rite of passage or a test of an individual’s strength. In my piece, I desired to illustrate this phenomenon using flower petals. The main character, as well as her multiple personalities, are tested on mental strength through a battle of perception vs reality. This piece is meant to bring forth the idea of our own "hot coals" that may prevent us from our successes, but also show us the beauty in our challenges.
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Scars on the sun“Scars on the Sun” is a contemporary piece based on the spoken word poem, Remember How We Forgot, by Shane Koyczan. This piece is about the memories that make up us as individuals, and the fearlessness we used to possess as children. The theme is derived from the lyrics in Shane’s poem, but is also a very personal message that inspired my movement vocabulary. Children are often imaginative, all around loving, non-judgmental, fearless, humble, confident and willing to learn and try new things. Most importantly they aren’t ashamed of their failures. She feels that we should all attempt to channel our child-like joys and be proud of our memories, both good and bad. The piece is portrayed through one unit of dancers and select antagonists where the dancers act as a unit of children in camaraderie as they reminisce on proud memories and narrate battles of life and hopefulness to “live and remember, burn like an ember capable of starting fires.”
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portraits“Portraits” is a contemporary piece expressing two individuals and their intertwining stories. I was inspired by the growing relationships in my life, and the value they hold. Trust is of the most precious gifts, and through this movement vocabulary we see moments of raw emotion and hesitancy against it. This piece was inspired by Andy Warhol’s screen tests in that it depicts a rendition of these “life portraits” as a projection masking the dancers. This slow motion movie of the dancers themselves furthers their exposition, and provokes the audience to get more acquainted with themselves. Just as Andy desired to capture the actual experience of living, so too do I in this investigation of humanity.
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Eff!cien$yEff!cien$y is a modern work that uses sharp movements to convey the rhythm and perception of time. I was inspired by my own busy life and the effect that productivity has on our college lives. Being a student, or even just a member of society, we are involved in monotonous work ethic and tend to avoid embracing new experiences. Focusing on productivity means we are always working towards efficiency. We often forget that we are also here to embrace moments of adventure, interaction, observation, and reflection. I convey my own struggle for something more in my daily life by having an antagonist within the group.
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We Will Run
The Academy of Dance Arts: Advanced Modern Class
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performed at Maria's School of Dance 2016 Recital
Maria's School of Dance summer intensive: jazz
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