Asheville Contemporary Dance Theatre performance of Gloria
In three performances this month, the Asheville Contemporary Dance Theatre (ACDT) presents Gloria, a production it calls “dance with an edge—a sharp edge.” The new work, which celebrates historical women warriors with dance, sword play and live music will be performed at the BeBe Theatre Friday and Saturday, September 25 and 26, at 7:30 p.m. and Sunday, September 27, at 2 p.m.
For Susan Collard, co-director with her husband Giles, of ACDT, this new woman-centric work is a culmination of personal and professional interests. “As a little girl growing up in the 1950s in a family of four brothers, my life was a constant challenge of strength of mentality and physicality,” she says. “As I grew older, I soon found that being a woman would always be a challenge to succeed in a male-dominant world.” So she made a study of women throughout history, with a particular interest in women artists who were inspired to create political works with a female focus. “For me, it feels like the most satisfying thing to elevate female accomplishments through the beauty of the arts,” she says. “That is what I have been doing with our dance company for the past 47 years.”
Besides being a dancer and dance instructor, Giles is also a fencing master and has taught the art for 36 years. “We wanted to include this kind of strength in the choreography, so he choreographed a section of the performance with blades,” Susan says. “It is exciting and real for the performance, since one bad move could destroy. The dancers studied different weapons until we decided which weapon would satisfy the periods in history that are represented.”
The dancers selected and researched the figures they wanted to portray on stage. Warriors represented include Queen Boudica, ruler of the Iceni tribe of East Anglia; Tomoe Gozen, a female samurai; and Somali’s Queen Arrawelo, portrayed by dancer Angela Gorman. “I was inspired by the stories of her leadership, her emphasis on womanhood and sisterhood, and her vision of a matriarchal society,” says Gorman. “Those themes connected with the qualities I admire in so many women, both past and present. At the same time, there are moments in my performance that honor many other women who have shaped my understanding of strength and what it can mean to be a warrior.”
The part required her and the other dancers to learn sword fighting which offered a challenge. “We assumed that because it involves full-body movement, it would settle into our bodies the same way dance choreography does,” Gorman says. “Instead, we found that our brains processed it very differently, and remembering the sequences took much more practice than we expected.” The production also features dancers Diana Cabrera and Melissa Wilhoit.
“Gloria is a celebration of women’s strength in all its forms,” Gorman says. “It reminds us that there isn’t just one way to be a warrior. Sometimes being a warrior looks like fighting, and sometimes it looks like resilience, leadership, compassion or protecting the people around you. This piece honors the many ways women have shown courage throughout history and continue to do so today.”
Learn more at ACDT.org and follow on Facebook at Asheville Contemporary Dance Theatre. Tickets, at TuTuTix.com, are $23 for adults and $17 for seniors and students. The BeBe Theatre is located at 20 Commerce Street, Asheville.
