Department of Dance presents “Grieving Landscapes,” an interactive performance exploring themes of grief through dance

Audiences can explore the intersection of grief and marginalization through the Ohio State Department of Dance’s upcoming free interactive dance performance, titled “Grieving Landscapes.” 

The performance installation will take place in the Urban Arts Space Thursday through Saturday, with each performance from 6 to 7:30 p.m., according to the space’s website. Developed and choreographed by Nico Lawson, a third-year graduate student pursuing a master’s in fine arts, the performance aims to highlight the different forms of grief experienced by marginalized communities, Lawson said.

“If we are talking about our experiences and performing the grief [of] our experiences in these systems publicly, that is an act of resistance, of making room for us to be who we are and who we need to be,” Lawson said.

Since the dancers’ personal experiences and identities connect to the themes explored in the performance, Lawson said their ensemble wishes to specifically delve into systems of white supremacy, capitalism and patriarchy as they exist within and surround stories of grief; as such, Lawson said audiences are urged to reflect on their own encounters within these systems.

“Our experiences are not happening in isolation, they are happening systemically,” Lawson said.

The interactive installation offers a different approach to the typical performer-audience relationship, Brittni Van Dine, a sixth-year who received her Bachelor of Science in health sciences for physical therapy and who is currently pursuing her bachelor’s in fine arts in dance, said. She said the use of a gallery rather than a stage, as well as set pieces, with which both dancers and audience members will interact, fosters intimacy during the performance.  

“There is a shared experience happening between the dancers and the audience,” Van Dine said.  

Lawson said their choreography draws from rituals surrounding the process of grief, with dance treated in this performance as an extension of these ceremonies. For Lawson, dance is a connection to spirituality, which in turn embodies the emotion of grief, they said. 

“We live in our bodies every day, so why not do it with dance?” Lawson said. 

Dancers Lawson, Van Dine, Mercedes Hicks and Siera Dance — both of whom are fourth-years in dance — have worked together creating and rehearsing the performance for over a year, Hicks said. She said the experience of working on the installation has changed the way she perceives grief and the grieving process at large. 

“I’ve done a lot of growing up, and we’ve gotten really close,” Hicks said. 

Lawson agreed and said it’s been beautiful to see how their original vision has transformed into what is now “Grieving Landscapes” through the quartet of fellow student dancers working through the concept of grief as a unit. 

“What I wanted was a piece [where] we could come in dealing with what we’ve experienced as individuals, but build a container to heal together,” Lawson said.

In describing the performance, Lawson said the audience will follow the dancers through multiple acts telling a story of grief. 

The piece starts when the loss first occurs and thus follows the performers as they endure the complex layers of grief, they said. Lawson and Dance act as individuals who have previously experienced grief while supporting Hicks and Van Dine who experience grief for the first time during the piece.

“It’s a glimpse for the audience to see how we got to the other side,” Lawson said.

Dance said she is excited to see how audience members react to and connect with the piece, especially in such a distinctly artistic space rather than the traditional dance stage.

“This isn’t just artwork on a wall, this is participatory,” Dance said. “You have to watch, you have to pay attention,” Dance said. 

Free tickets to “Grieving Landscapes” must be reserved online here prior to the performance. Though the Saturday show is sold out, tickets to the Thursday and Friday shows are still available.  

Only 50 seats are available per show, and the Friday performance will be livestreamed on Zoom. The link will be available closer to the performance date on the Urban Arts Space’s website.