Students, staff, faculty, community members collaborate on dance piece about water
Inspired by the poetry of Jessica Ardis and Helen Scholtz's photographs of water, eighteen dancers ages 19 to 79, under the direction of Pam Kuntz, have created TIDAL - "a piece about water...or a piece about influence and connection, inevitability and change."
The work is set to original music by WWU composition professor Charles Halka.
The first time I saw one of Helen Scholtz's photographs of water I remember diving in with curiosity, confusion, disbelief, and a want for more. What appeared to be an abstract painting was actually an unedited photograph of nature. I saw textures, light, and color in impossible, unimaginable ways. I saw both patterns and unpredictable chaos. I saw movement. - Pam Kuntz
The piece is a collaboration that includes the work of Western faculty from the Dance, Theatre, and Music programs. IT was created by Dance faculty Pam Kuntz in collaboration with Angela Sebastian (Dance faculty), Charles Halka (Music faculty), Mark Kuntz (Theatre faculty), several community members, current WWU Dance student Karen Kao, and WWU staff member Alona Christman.
Water plays an important role in our region and is an overarching theme in "Tidal"...the rushing water of the Nooksack River, the trickle of streams fed by melting snow at Heather Meadows, various intensities of waves on the Whidbey Island seashore, the intimate splashing of small rocks and pebbles into a perfectly still Silver Lake at dawn, the pouring rain in my own backyard, and various other sounds. - Charles Halka, about the sound score
TIDAL premieres at The Firehouse Arts and Events Center October 5 through 8.
Photo by Jason Ruvelson
