dance dramaturgy

Art in Motion is a new show that was conceptualized by three female ballet faculty in collaboration with the animation department director here at BYU. The show beautifully merges animation, music, and ballet to tell the stories of three female artists from history. Those artists are Berthe Morisot, Sofonisba Anguissola, and Margaret Macdonald Mackintosh.

When I think of the word powerful, I often associate it with the really unique, rare, extraordinary moments in my life. I envision grandiose gestures or out-of-this-world ideas. However, through my research for BYU’s Art in Motion, three female artists changed my perspective of the word.

With a show as universal as Tchaikovsky’s Swan Lake Ballet, one would think that there wouldn’t be many unknowns to staging a production. However, director Ashley Parov had a vision to make this classic ballet more accessible to ballerinas of all ages. Instead of producing a typical 3-hour-long ballet, Ashley imagined an hour-long family-friendly piece. How then, do you fill in the gaps of the story?