In its last event of the semester, Wesleyan World Wednesdays sponsored “Dancing Across Continents,” a dance performance and discussion with alumnae Pei-chun Wang ’99 and Abigail Levine ’99 about their new collaborative work.
On the evening of Nov. 29, about 40 students and faculty members gathered at the Bessie Schonberg Dance Studio to view the performance from mats and cushions spread across the studio floor. Levine and Wang first showed video clips of their individual work in New York City and Taiwan, after which they performed their new collaborative dance entitled “42.38N; 72.88W.”
The project originally began as a discussion between the Taiwan-based Wang and the New York-based Levine through YouTube. During the performance—the first in front of an audience—the two women maintained eye contact, crouching next to each other, leaping up playfully and interacting with each other using a collection of small rocks that each kept in the pockets of the vests they wore. The rocks were used as noise-makers, gifts, and objects of exchange between the two. At one point, Levine lifted Wang off the ground, shaking her gently and causing the rocks in Wang’s pocket to rattle—a playful gesture which drew smiles from the audience.
“The performance challenged us to interpret movements and interactions without the aid or crutch of a single cultural lens,” commented Director of the Office of International Studies Carolyn Sorkin.
Wang was one of the first Freeman Asian Scholars to study at the University. It was clear that dance was not something either she or Levine had expected to engage in as an academic career until they came to the University.
“[I] had no idea what liberal arts was about,” Wang said, commenting on her Taiwanese childhood before coming to the U.S. Although she had taken ballet as a child, she did not study modern dance until taking a class with Adjunct Professor of Dance Susan Lourie.
“My body is the place of all my knowledge. It has its own intelligence,” Wang said.
“[Dance is] a crucial and valuable tool for communication and sharing,” she added.
After graduating from the University, she traveled to Brazil as a dancer, returned to Taiwan, and then went to Israel to work with a local dance group.
“If I had never come to Wesleyan, I wouldn’t have known dance could be my career,” she said, smiling. “It’s a space of freedom to find yourself, redefine who you are. [It was] one of the most liberating experiences of my life.”
Levine expressed similar sentiments, citing dance as an essential component of her professional and personal life. Levine has worked with dance as a tool for community-building and a way of interacting with public spaces. She has choreographed pieces that have taken place on New York City sidewalks, in swimming pools, and on subways. As an undergraduate, she also created a dance piece with other University students, which they performed at Bradley Airport.
Levine lived in Havana, Cuba, for two years as a dancer after graduation. She was also invited to Venezuela to showcase a work she choreographed in 2005 entitled “If You See Something”, which has been performed and filmed at the Delancey Street subway station in New York City.
Wesleyan World Wednesdays is a new collaborative effort by the Office for International Student Affairs, the Office of International Studies, and the Office for Diversity and Academic Advancement that is intended to highlight the University community’s international presence.
“Through speakers, discussion forums, and other events, we intend to explore the complexities and intersections among U.S. diversity, international issues and global citizenship,” said Associate Dean of International Student Affairs Alice Hadler. “Pei-chun and Abigail move beautifully, and very differently, and their whimsical interaction speaks to the multiple possibilities of cross-cultural communication. A perfect final WWW event for this inaugural semester.”
Leave a Reply