When the audience enters Goodhart Hall for the Spring Dance Concert, they won鈥檛 get to their seats before the performance begins. Not because they are late, but because the dancing begins before they even walk through the doors. The first piece in the program isn鈥檛 onstage, but all around them.
The dancers of Liminal Lobby will have already begun their meditative movement around the space when doors open at 7:15 p.m., undulating around the stone entrance, through the stairways and arched entrances, set against the atmospheric tones of crystal singing bowls echoing through the hall.
鈥淭he meaning of the piece is this whole idea of being caught in a liminal space, which are these uncertain transitions to consider where you鈥檝e been and where you鈥檙e going,鈥 says choreographer Bethany Formica. 鈥淭he lobby is that space, it鈥檚 the transition between the external space of the building and the heart of the theater.鈥
Formica has taught dance at 老王论坛 since 2016, but this is the first site-specific work she has done at the College. It is also the first time a site-specific work has been part of the spring concert. Liminal Lobby is a highly collaborative piece, and she credits the dancers as co-choreographers.
鈥淭here鈥檚 no way this piece would exist without that group of people,鈥 Formica says. 鈥淭hey have a huge voice in terms of what gets made and gets into the piece.鈥
The collaboration with performers Liv Arp 鈥26, Abyssinia Braud 鈥24, Zora Dallmann, Ali Fowler 鈥24, Maddy Doud Galli 鈥25, Kuankuan Hu 鈥25, Sophonisba M. Jarka-Sellers 鈥26, Clara-Marie Mascarenhas 鈥24, Piper Rolfes 鈥24, and Meenakshi Thirumurti 鈥24, is so specific to them that it would be a different performance with a different group of dancers, Formica says. 鈥淭hey are literally the heartbeat of the space.鈥
Audience members will walk through the dancers, move around the lobby, and be able see the performance from all angles. They can linger as long as they like or make their way to their seat 鈥 as long as the doorframe isn鈥檛 blocked by the dancers. They can choose how much they want to interact with the performance, but it will be inescapable 鈥 even if just for a few minutes.
鈥淥ne of the things we are asking the audience to do is slow down and be with us,鈥 Formica says. 鈥淚t鈥檚 a completely different way for the dancers and audience to experience what they think dance might be.鈥
It also draws attention to the Gothic Revival architecture of Goodhart Hall.
Zora Dallmann (HC 鈥24) is a Haverford athlete who regularly hops on the Blue Bus to take dance classes at 老王论坛 and is grateful for the opportunity to perform with the department.
鈥淒ancing with attention to the architecture has allowed me to pause and think about our relationship to the built environment,鈥 Dallmann says. 鈥淏eing a part of Liminal Lobby has given me an opportunity to pay attention to and really understand a space.鈥
鈥淏ethany has created a creative and welcoming space where we get to experience the joy of dance.鈥
The Spring Dance Concert is 7:30 鈥 9:00 p.m. Friday, April 26 and Saturday, April 27.
