During Spring Quarter, the Stanford Arts Institute will be profiling the 2014–15 Honors in the Arts cohort. This interdisciplinary honors program allows students in any major to complete a capstone project integrating arts practice or theory with another field of study, To learn more, visit artsinstitute.stanford.edu/honors.
Duality, the contemporary ballet senior Carly Lave choreographed for her Honors in the Arts Project does not use a typical male-female construction. Instead Lave created a female duet featuring herself and her friend, senior Renee Donovan, exploring gender in movement. As part of her project, she is also writing a paper which informs her choreography and her process, delving into her research on contemporary ballet, theories on spectator-performer relationship, the male gaze and feminism, among others.
“A lot of ballet has cast the woman into the role of a passive receiver—in many ways, she is the site of aesthetic pleasure for the audience,” Lave said. “I wanted to craft a dance that shows that stereotypical theme of ballet, but also creates something that is masculine, ugly and displeasing, subverting the male gaze—to choreograph movements that were more masculine, and have women be more empowered and have agency through those.”
“A lot of ballet has cast the woman into the role of a passive receiver—in many ways, she is the site of aesthetic pleasure for the audience,” Lave said. “I wanted to craft a dance that shows that stereotypical theme of ballet, but also creates something that is masculine, ugly and displeasing, subverting the male gaze—to choreograph movements that were more masculine, and have women be more empowered and have agency through those.”
Duality has no storyline, but is linear in transition, following a more balletic, hyper-feminine beginning into a more masculine, raw ending. Her first thread of inspiration was drawn from Professor Janice Ross’s class, “Rethinking the Ballerina,” which examined the history of ballet and the feminist theory in both classical and contemporary ballet. Lave eventually worked on the project with Ross as her creative adviser and Program Coordinator of American Studies, Professor Judith Richardson, as her academic adviser, as well as with Alex Ketley, lecturer of ballet and choreography.
“After taking [Professor Ross’s course], I started thinking about how I could choreograph something that looks at the way a woman in ballet might not be so passive, might not fall into the codified forms of ballet and the embedded way of movement,” Lave said.
The majority of the choreography is Lave’s own, with influence from Donovan. The 13-minute long piece also features some improvisation.
“It’s exciting to have the deliberate use of organic choice within dance,” Lave said. “It causes the performers to think on their feet and feel inspired in the moment.”
This decision was partly inspired by her experiences with Buddhism, particularly the concept of “the beginner’s mind” which she learned from a modern dance choreographer when she was young.
“A big personal mantra is to have a beginner’s mind every time I go into the studio,” Lave said. “I need to remain curious about it and approach the choreography with an inquisitive mind.”
“A big personal mantra is to have a beginner’s mind every time I go into the studio,” Lave said. “I need to remain curious about it and approach the choreography with an inquisitive mind.”
Lave had previously considered choreographing to classical music, in line with her focus on critiquing classical ballet, but decided instead to use electronic tracks from various artists as well as live electronic music by Caleb Rau, from Rau’s recently released album Xoskeleton.
“I’m very inspired and moved, both physically and emotionally, by trap music,” Lave said. “It’s in and out of our ears constantly, and there’s something about electronic music which causes an impulse out of the body—it’s more striking and staccato.”
The performance will be part of a larger showcase Lave is organizing in the Enchanted Broccoli Forest (EBF) lounge, with acts from the Spoken Word Collective and excerpts from bacchae, another Honors in the Arts Project by seniors Jake Friedler and Laura Petree.
“I’m really jazzed about [performing at EBF because I wanted to do it in a student space, of and for my peers, that will make my art—my dancing—more impactful and resonate personally,” Lave said.
Duality will be hosted by EBF in the lounge on May 28 from 8:30 p.m. to 10 p.m.
