SOLUS + SYNERGY at OZ Arts Nashville
In a growing world of multimedia art, Solus and Synergy, presented at OZ Arts December 5th and 6th, gave sight into how technology can be integrated into elevating human expression. Both performances would have been successful at their storytelling without the multimedia elements such as an intro video for Solus and the photographs in Synergy, but their addition added prior context to the live performance to come. As artists and art enthusiasts, such as myself, there is much to be learned from both performances through their unique applications.
Solus was a piece that without prior knowledge of the performer and choreographer, Becca Hoback’s intentions, would stir up unsettling emotions and deep thought. It is a part of her Sacral series of dance theater solos, exploring the harmful effects of purity culture. Purity culture is a subculture within Christianity that emphasizes sexual abstinence before marriage, modesty in dress, and women’s submission to traditional gender roles. An example of this, one I have seen before in movies, but has been used in church events, equated and taught that virginity is like a rose, with the rose being crumpled and unable to be its bloomed self after sex occurs. This context sets the stage for Becca’s performance which explores her relationship to religion and purity culture through her upbringing.
Ten minutes before Becca stepped on stage was the presentation of “Fallout,” a film developed in 2023 through an artist residency in Ordu, Turkey. The initial feelings I picked up on were those of worry, fear with Becca attempting to self-soothe and ground herself in the room, tracing her hands along the walls and then building upon the architecture of the room through her body. This section was accompanied with cello from Kaitlyn Raitz who edited and scored the film, as well as accompanied some parts live. Here the cello contrasted well with the high notes in the film and exposed the conflicting emotions Becca was dancing through in the building, a Christian Greek Orthodox Church. One of my notes was “freedom calling through entrapment.” It felt as though something had happened to her and the journey of healing was non-linear, with freeing motion and hopeful dance quickly met with more despair.
The bridge into the live performance was through the use of a prop. A white sheet, tightly pulled horizontally was used. Becca danced into, around, and pulled on it. The film ended with this and Becca along with two dancers providing the tension pull of each side, came onto stage. I saw the use of this prop as symbolism of an in between state, very womb-like, inducing a re-birthing process. There was an urge of wanting to hold on to past ideologies, releasing it, and then going back. The healing depicted on stage was unpredictable, and at times unsettling to watch, an accurate representation of real healing which when expressed through the body is not always “beautiful.” Once the white sheet left, a spotlight went onto Becca as she was laying down, learning how to move again. This “admission” scene was where the mind surrendered to the body, allowing for the acknowledgement of unprocessed emotions stored in the body. We got to see her expand for the first time, spinning and taking up space. It felt very ritual-like with lots of circular movements and repetitive motions, with at one point a red light shining where the “root chakra” is in ancient Indian spiritual traditions. I took this as a turning point from where she has done the “root” work, showing a newly gained level of stability and security within her own physical body. The “impact” scene has animal-like motions along with growls in the music. We got to see her move through primal instincts, moving up into the body, slowly building into motions that could be considered aesthetically “pretty” but also haunting. This was the resolve of the performance, although true healing is never fully completed.
Synergy, a production from Shackled Feet Dance Company, was everything and more than I expected it to be. There was a “special thanks” section in the program where Katherine Dunham, among others, was mentioned. Katherine Dunham viewed dance as “social medicine,” and this performance was just that. This was the first performance I had been to in a formal setting that had audience participation both prompted and unprompted. As a student of the sociology and anthropology of dance, I feel this is what we need more of. The “West” has created dance to be a spectacle, separating the audience from performers, instead of participatory, where the audience is an active element in the artistic curation. It was very refreshing and gives me hope for more progress to be made in the dance industry. This change occurs through leaders and teachers such as Shabaz Ujima and Thea N. Jones whom choreographed the works in collaboration with dancers. One thing I really enjoyed about Synergy was that the expression of each pair of dancers was captured through their performance and it felt like they were playing on stage. I was able to feel the community they had built with each other from the audience.
The music score, projections, and live music was done by trumpetist Rod McGaha. A yellow light was projected onto two side art pieces that showed the figure of people dancing on branches. Shabaz was sitting on a bench singing a beautiful song about recognizing the “shine” in others. His voice gave me chills. A photo was placed on the screen behind the stage, introducing the next dancers to do their piece. It felt very intimate, like you could see the “in progress” of the piece and then the final performance on stage. The dance between Thea and Shabaz was very playful and supportive. It was among the jazz rooted dance combo of two women where I first heard audience participation. The smiles of the dancers were infectious and was why I felt they were dancing on a fine line of play and performance.
The piece I felt had the most partner work was of two men. Their movements relied on each other to do and was fascinating to see their level of trust with each other embodied on stage. Near the end of the show, a gorgeous older lady came out and started singing “You Are My Sunshine.” This was where I was brought to tears. Not only was it a beautiful moment that would carry on til the end of the performance, but my grandmother used to sing that song to me so the emotional impact was felt more intensely. Here the backdrop had lots of colors and instead of focusing on depicting dancing duos it was more on the collective emotion of liberation. Everyone came out on stage and joined for dance and song, including the audience from their seats once they were prompted. Singing and clapping together in a room full of people like that brought a feeling like that of when the dancers formed a circle on stage, completeness. Everything became interconnected and the illusion of the audience versus the stage fell. In a way, Synergy could be looked at as the collective healing which occurs after and alongside the individual healing of . I am excited to follow the works of Shacked Feet Dance Company and Becca Hoback.
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Audrey Rose Conley is a sociology student at MTSU with a passion for exploring the transformative power of dance. Her research delves into how dance can challenge social norms, promote individual empowerment, and foster social change. As a rapper and singer, she uses her artistic voice to express these themes and inspire others to embrace their authentic creativity.
