Siera Dance will be a featured choreographer and dancer in the “ERASED!” showcase on Thursday. Credit: Courtesy of Micah Epps
Conceptualized by a trio of fourth-year dance majors, an upcoming dance performance called “ERASED!” seeks to corporealize life’s built-in complexities.
Yitong Chen, Siera Dance and Mercedes Hicks will present their individually choreographed pieces — titled “Yo Yo,” “Carte Blanche/Self Infinite” and “Green with Curiosity,” respectively — during the “ERASED!” showcase on Thursday, according to the Department of Dance’s website. Set to take place from 7 to 8 p.m. at Sullivant Hall’s Barnett Theatre, “ERASED!” has been in the works for roughly seven months, Hicks said.
Due to the variance between all three pieces, Hicks said the show will be highly abstract. Still, she said the final product reflects an extensive amount of group collaboration.
Although auditions and rehearsals officially began in August, the idea for “ERASED!” took root in spring 2023, Hicks said.
“Last semester, we were talking about our projects and our research interests, and we realized that we really thought deeply about audience perception and audience experience within all of our works,” Hicks said. “So, we decided to collaborate and make a show while we’re all kind of tapping into very different ideas and aesthetics.”
Mercedes Hicks will be a featured choreographer and dancer in the “ERASED!” showcase on Thursday. Credit: Aya King
One of the show’s primary goals is creating an inspiring, inclusive and experimental performance space, Dance said. Considering the fact all three choreographers are BIPOC — Black, indigenous and/or people of color — Dance said they are eager to share aspects of their distinct life experiences with others.
“For us three as a collective, I think this was just a space for BIPOC people that we wanted to create, and we’re taking a step forward to stray away and create those spaces so we can inspire others to do the same in the future,” Dance said.
Dance also said the name “ERASED!” is purposefully open-ended, as it can embody a different meaning for every choreographer. For Dance, this means artistically reimagining the modern-day world as she knows it.
“How do you erase what’s happening now and create something imaginative and new?” Dance said.
Dance said her piece, “Carte Blanche/Self Infinite,” will be performed by a trio of first-year dancers — Masha Moiseytseva, Khamille Randall and Brianna Rosato. While she originally envisioned the routine as being performed by six to nine dancers, she said choreographing for a more tight-knit group has been immensely gratifying.
Thematically, “Carte Blanche/Self Infinite” depicts the complex process of aging and discovering oneself over time, Dance said. Notably, the performance will mark Dance’s first time choreographing for other dancers.
“It’s inspired by my own spiritual journey and my journey to self-discovery,” Dance said. “I wanted to inspire a younger audience to begin to take that journey or be interested in their own type of journey and think for themselves. I also wanted to put an artistic vision on ongoing cycles of self-reflection and reconstruction of life.”
Hicks’ number, “Green With Curiosity,” will include herself, Dance and first-year dancer Mina Abbey. She said the piece, which features nonlinear and occasionally sporadic choreography, is meant to evoke feelings of inquisitiveness within watchers. Moreover, the phrase “green with envy” also played a part in her creative vision.
Personally speaking, Hicks said her interpretation of “ERASED!” draws on dance’s ephemeral nature, seeing as the movement only exists within a temporary realm of performance. In this way, she said dance mimics the fleeting nature of life itself.
“It’s about curiosity and how much we don’t know as humans, all the things we get to explore and what it feels like to think about what we don’t know and how we try to answer those things,” Hicks said.
More information about “ERASED!” can be found on the Department of Dance’s website. No tickets or reservations are required to attend.
