Student dancers practice bold new steps—on the Web

The talented preprofessional student dancers on campus for this month's Martha Graham Dance Company workshop are learning more than Graham's famous contractions and falls. Shortly after their June 1 arrival on campus for the intensive three-week workshop, the students also began building their own virtual classroom—online at the Clytemnestra Project Web site.

	Hannah-Faye Foster of Marble Falls, Texas, dances at the Tang

There, under the direction of master videographer and new media enthusiast Jaki Levy, they're developing content to explore Graham technique and document the reconstruction of Graham's vintage masterwork, Clytemnestra, a project that lies at the heart of the Graham company's work during this year's residency, under the direction of artistic director Janet Eilber.

"The work we produce aims to be a resource in illuminating Martha Graham's work, aesthetic, and ideas," the students explain in their Web site welcome. "Using the paradigms of the social web, our work will be open, shareable, creative, and responsive."

Working in small documentary teams, the students are learning and employing media in multiple formats, including video, photographs, and audio; they'll also learn methods for distributing original work online and consider issues revolving around copyrights. Their site includes such entries as the YouTube posting of a 1976 video of Martha Graham discussing and dancing her 1930 Lamentations solo in its famous long purple stretchy-tube costume; Flickr snapshots of a student dancer practicing dramatic Graham moves on the Tang Museum's equally dramatic metal staircase; and a video of Panorama, a Graham work to be presented in the company's June 13 performance at the Saratoga Performing Arts Center. (For information and tickets, visit the SPAC Web site or the SaratogaArtsFest site.) The SPAC performance will feature workshop students. Levy, who posted the clip, also invited students to post and share their impressions of the work.

Besides the video archiving and reinterpretation of Graham's work, workshop director Levy hopes dance students will learn methods for ongoing documentation of their process, to offer an insider's view into the dance process and passion, and create a finished product to post as part of an online video series.

Levy is currently the resident technologist and new media director for Misnomer Dance Theater. He holds a master's degree from the Interactive Telecommunications Program at New York University, where he focused on the intersection of art and technology. A web consultant for individuals, small businesses, and arts organizations, Levy has taught courses in online outreach, video production, and Web design.

Posted On: 6/11/2008

Tags: martha graham dance company, clytemnestra