‘Weare’ the dance is

On Oct. 6, students had the opportunity to attend a workshop led by the Kate Weare Company, a contemporary dance studio who, on Oct. 7, performed on the main stage of the Redfern Arts Center.   

Kate Weare founded the company in 2004. Her company is small, but because of her high standards.

“My company is very small for a reason,” Weare said. “It’s very hard for me to find good dancers.”

Her methodology behind choosing dancers is very important. She looks for a combination of technical capacity, and more importantly, magnetism, charisma and dancers who have the courage to be exposed.

“I think the most important thing for any performer is to settle into who they truly are,” she said.

Because of the strict selection process, a talented performance is a gaurentee. The dancers were Adrian Clark, Leslie Kraus, Douglas Gillespie and Kate Weare. The four performed two acts. The first was titled Lean-to and the second was titled Bridge of Sighs. Lean-to was a slower paced performance, with a large white lean-to looking over the stage, much like the top half of a crescent moon. It was performed by Clark, Kraus and Gillespie. Weare described its story line as a woman, Kraus, who wants two men, Gillespie and Clark, but in the end accepts that she couldn’t.

One audience member asked during a question and answer section afterwards, “Who won?”

“She did,” replied another member.

“I like that, I think she did win,” Weare replied.

Other audience members thought differently. Allison Hammell, a freshman, who’s studying dance, thought more in depth.

“I believe the first act was a wonderful love triangle. At one point the woman cheated on her boyfriend and had to back to the other guy because he made her pregnant,” Hammell said.

Bridge of Sighs had a faster-pace. It had more lighting than the Lean-to’s night-time atmosphere and was performed by all four dancers. Weare told how the performance connected to her upcoming marriage in the previous year. It represented all her nerves and anxiety.

Sara Handspicker, junior, also thought otherwise. She said it was an exploration of the different types of relationships.

“In the beginning it was an abusive relation and then there was a loving relationship, a supportive relationship, a sexual relationship and then a teasing relationship. There was girl on girl, there was guy one guy, there was girl with guy,” Handspicker said.

Evidently everyone takes something different away from a performance, and while it may not be the same meaning as intended by the choreographer, it’s not to say it’s appreciated any less.

Students were not the only ones who enjoyed what the company brought to campus. The Redfern was open to the public and the audience included all ages. 60-year-old Chester, Vermont resident, Rich Rommer, heard about the performance from the Redfern e-mailing list.

Although he hasn’t heard of the Kate Weare Company, he seemed delighted take the opportunity to see the dance performance.

“I loved the partnering, the way they where continually connecting and how they where able to move together,” Rommer said.

Both performances relied heavily on partnering.

“I love partnering,” Weare said. “It gets you away from your ego. Ultimately, it means you can’t be a diva.”

Handspicker was also one of the few students who was able to attend a workshop led by the Kate Weare Company on Oct. 6. The company taught a choreography class and students from other dance classes, about 25 people in total. Students learned a partnered phrase from the professionals and were given about 20 minuets to work with what they where given to make it their own.

“They wanted us to look for something when we watched, and then build off of something we saw,” Handspicker said.

Students appreciated what they had learned when they saw it happen on stage. A portion of the second act was the piece they where taught, performed by Clark and Weare.

“The phrase was hard but it was really rewarding to do it and then see it happen on stage and know I can do that,” she said.

The performers also said they enjoyed the workshop, Weare especially.

“They where very lively. I was pleased to see that these students have a certain grounding and confidence.” Weare said. “That’s the key to forming artists rather than instruments.”

Garrett Beltis can be contacted at gbeltis@keeneequinox.com.