Twist and Twin: Exploring Identities in Dance
By Mary Lynn Babcock, National Rep daCi USA
All the parts make up the whole!
daCi Copenhagen 2015: A treat and delight in itself. A highlight of this international Congress was in the youth performances! Each diverse performing group was brimming with excitement, sparkle, glow, and incredible focus. What was most amazing? The embodiment of passion and love for dance in each and every dancer, creatingpowerful performances and stunning dance works! Meeting places were beautiful and exciting such as the opening and closing ceremonies...even the train station was fun as you can see. We are so fortunate to be part of such a powerful dance organization.
The 13th daCi International Congress, 5-10 July 2015
By Anna Mansbridge, Chair Elect daCi USA Director, Kaleidoscope Dance Company, Seattle, WA
The theme of this Congress “Twinning” was all about people coming together from different countries, cultures and backgrounds to create, explore,share, present and perform dance. Through this rich exchange we came to appreciate our own identityand those of others in different ways. New possibilities were created for collaboration between dancers from across the globe, both in physical space and in a virtual way through technology. The Congress officially opened with an event at the Pantomime Theatre at Tivoli Gardens where we were treated to a specially choreographed pantomime ballet featuring Commedia dell’arte characters such as Harlequin and Columbine. We all waved our country’s flag to jubilant cheering, listened to the welcoming speeches, ate sandwiches, and then explored the charm of Tivoli Gardens, Europe’s oldest and quaintest theme park. The children loved going on all the rides laughing, screaming and thoroughly enjoying themselves. The Adult Program and the Young People’s Program took place in different locations in Copenhagen thatwere quite a distance from each other. The Young People’s program was housed at Dansehallerne. This was a fabulous building with wonderful studios, a theater, café, and lots of open space for meeting and just hanging out. The buzz and energy in the building was infectious. The dancers came back from each session fired up and enthused aboutthe classes. Each day began with Dance Flavours. These were a wide variety of fun classes to choose from including Floor Work, Hip-Hop, Jazz, Contemporary, Waacking, Gaga, Flamenco and Danish Folk Dance. This was followed by Creative Meeting Points. All the dancers were put into groups according to age and they went off to specific outdoor locations to create a piece that was performed on the final day of the Congress. On the final day the audience split into tour groups and were taken to five of the fifteen different locations grouped as Urban, Garden and Industrial. It was very inspiring to visit the different groups and to see what they had created within their particular environment. All the choreographies were very creative and were a highlight of the Congress. The afternoon sessions were an interesting mixture of workshops that explored the theme of dancing identities. On three of the evenings different performances were held in the theatre at Dansehallerne composed of pieces that each group had brought with them from their home countries. We were treated to a wonderful diversity of dancing identities. Each show was performed twice in the same evening, to allow as many as possible to see the performances as seating in the theater was limited to 200 (over 700 people attended the Congress). On Wednesday evening we got to see a local professional dance company perform at Dansekapellet. The piece we saw was called 360° - The Blackest of White Lies,performed by a Danish group Uppercut Dance Theater. The piece explored tales of lies and fantasy from Greenland. It was a very thought provoking performance with memorable images of struggle and human connection. On the final evening we celebrated the conclusion of the Congress with a Farewell Dance Party. We all met outside at the Dansehallerne, connected with new friends we had made during the week from all over the world, ate hamburgers and of course DANCED! It was a joyous “Twinning” to end to an unforgettable week.
Here is response from one of the children from Kaleidoscope Dance Company who were lucky enough to attend the Congress:
This was my fourth daCi conference (two national and two international) and each time it amazes me how many people from around the world share the same passion as me. It is always so much fun to meet new friends and learn about different dance styles. I highly encourage dancers who have not been to a daCi conference yet to do so. Can't wait for Australia!
-Izzi Cooper, age 13
