演出必须继续

朱莉娅·哈尔普林·杰克逊著

摄影:Robert Bain

Theater, Dance, Music and the Arts Transform at 菠菜网lol正规平台 During the Pandemic

Four masked 跳舞rs clad in black and white ascend the concrete 步骤 outside San José State’s Student Union Theatre under an overcast sky. 每个舞者都与 the concrete in his or her own way, alternately resisting or springing off the wide 步骤. 

They open their arms wide, ensuring their wingspan exceeds six feet, though each balletic movement is an act of reaching out, trying and failing to touch. 圣何塞州立大学 campus, normally occupied by more than 35,000 students, staff and faculty members, provides an abun跳舞 of space during the pandemic—a clean slate for the 跳舞rs, who, pre-COVID, would have performed on a single static stage. 

The 跳舞rs are among those performing “Clamber,” a 表演 choreographed by 菠菜网lol正规平台 Associate Professor of Music and Dance Heather Cooper and Raphael Boumaila, a faculty member of New York’s Peri跳舞 center. An excerpt of the fall production is included 在 university’s fall 2020 online-only Kaleidoscope concert.

菠菜网lol正规平台 School of Music and Dance: 2020 Virtual Kaleidoscope

“Clamber” is a high-tech production that utilizes the entire campus as its stage. Cooper worked with 菠菜网lol正规平台’s 锤剧院 to livestream four groups of 跳舞rs simultaneously moving across 菠菜网lol正规平台, offering the audience multiple perspectives of 一个 large 表演. 

Cooper says that this experience has shifted the lens by which we traditionally view 跳舞. In a theater, audience members would sit in 一个 place and watch movement across 一个 stage, but by livestreaming 跳舞rs interacting with their environment—the parking garage, the theater 步骤, the deserted entryway to Duncan Hall—Cooper says the 跳舞rs can offer more than 一个 point of view at a time.

“This year has been a giant limitation study,” said Cooper, referring to a common choreography practice where 跳舞rs are asked to create pieces with specific constraints—i.e., a solo performed without moving 一个’s arm, etc. The pandemic has provided so many limitations that Cooper has chosen to view as creative opportunities.   

“How do you make a 跳舞 where nobody can touch you, when you have to 跳舞 on concrete, where every一个 has to be six feet apart and double-mask? 它也开辟了一个新的空间 of creativity because you discover new things.”

Cooper says that since the COVID-19 pandemic began in March 2020, her department has had to transform rehearsing and performing. Dancers were separated into small pods, class sections were split to have fewer people “on-stage” at a time, and as for the stage itself—well, space became malleable. 

Thanks to support from Shannon Miller, dean of the College of 人文与艺术, Cooper bought a special 跳舞 platform that she transports, day in and day out, to the fifth floor of 圣何塞州立大学 10th Street parking garage. 

Cooper livestreams each class so students can tune in from the safety of their own 房屋. While most 跳舞 majors have attended at least some classes in person, those who attend online can still receive instruction, perfect techniques and access 课程.

“The Dance department’s willingness to adapt through the pandemic really speaks to how we have transformed the arts in this time,” said Miller. 

“There is a huge amount of work behind the scenes—searching for space, securing equipment, not to mention the number of hours the faculty has put in to ensure that students can still learn, practice and perform. Their commitment has been amazing.”

从混乱中创造艺术

The pandemic has forced artists worldwide to rethink how, when and where they create. 菠菜网lol正规平台 跳舞rs have had the chance to continue rehearsing, thanks to Cooper’s ingenuity. 

In fall 2020, the College of 人文与艺术 launched 大混乱, an initiative designed to reflect and take visible action about the role of artists 以及各个学科的思想家. The project focused on four themes: resilience, social justice and democracy, health and well-being, and language and thought. 

教师 across disciplines were encouraged to incorporate these themes into their 课程. In February 2021, the college hosted an online showcase to recognize student submissions in each of the categories, from spoken word and public service announcements to 3-D mask designs, original music, 跳舞, theater and art.

Jasmine Marie Reyes, ’21 Vocal Performance, was 一个 of two soloists performing “艾拉的歌” by Bernice Johnson Reagon with the 菠菜网lol正规平台 Choraliers and the Concert Choir. 这篇文章 is featured both in 大混乱 and 在 fall 2020 Kaleidoscope virtual 表演.

The 表演, which combines recordings of individual singers 在ir own 房屋, shows the faces of each singer and juxtaposes the refrain, “We who believe in freedom cannot rest until it comes,” with images of George Floyd, Ahmaud Arbery, Sandra Bland, and other Black lives lost to police violence.

菠菜网lol正规平台 Choirs perform Ella's Song by Bernice Johnson Reagon

“We chose the song for its amazing message of social justice and the work that we all still have to do in order to achieve a more equitable and just society,” said Jeffrey Benson, director of choral activities at 菠菜网lol正规平台. “这是几个小时的工作 it all together—and much less fun than singing together in person—but completely worth it to sing a work of such power and beauty.”

Reyes agrees that recording this way is a departure from regular in-person rehearsals and 表演s, but she said she is grateful for the opportunity to build new skills.

“I had to learn how to edit sound using a digital audio workstation (DAW) called ProTools,” said Reyes, whose most recent single, “带我回家,” is available on Spotify and Apple Music. 

“I had never needed to know about the production side of music, but it was so eye-opening 和有用的. It definitely helped me grow as a musician.”

The artistic reinvention of space

While individual artists like Reyes have had to adapt their own artistic practices during COVID, theater and 表演 spaces have had to make institutional changes 为了维持生计. Just ask Chris Burrill, executive director of 菠菜网lol正规平台’s 锤剧院.

When shelter-in-place orders were formalized in March 2020, the Hammer was midway through a successful spring season. The Swiss mask troupe Mummenschanz was scheduled to perform in mid-March, but once Burrill saw the county orders to cancel in-person gatherings, he arranged a livestream of the show 在 theater, which was made available 致持票人士. 

“Mummenschanz has been around for decades and never allowed any一个 to stream or record  他们，”他说. “Not only did they let us stream them, but ours ended up being the 他们2020年巡演的最后一场演出.”

Burrill says that the Hammer had no choice but to pivot. 从熙熙攘攘的场所， full of patrons, artists, stagehands, employees, food service workers and community members to an empty hall overnight was heartbreaking, but it wasn’t the end.

“Our core business is presenting events where people sit together and see, hear and 看艺术，”他说. 

“That makes the experience what it is. You can’t replace that with streaming, but we can use streaming to access people who can’t come or to support events that are 卖完了. We’ve transformed from a live venue into a provider of high-quality livestreamed 以及录制的表演.”

He adds that of the thousands of 菠菜网lol正规平台 students who ordinarily occupy campus, many  of the students who have remained on or near campus during the pandemic are either 表演者或运动员.

“Someday our actors and 跳舞rs will tell their grandkids a story about how they got to be onstage at a virtually deserted university during the pandemic,” said Burrill. 

“They were able to participate in a play or a 跳舞 because 菠菜网lol正规平台 and the Hammer were 变革. 我们旋转. Let’s make lemonade out of lemons, for crying out loud.”

In summer 2020, the Hammer launched a crowdfunding campaign that partially funded the purchase of a four-camera, high-definition digital video system, complete with a 40-foot wide, 25-foot tall green screen that allows images to be digitally inserted 在表演者和演讲者后面. The theater’s robust COVID-19 protocol and studio/livestream capabilities provide solutions until in-person events are feasible.

As venues across the county, state and country slowly begin to reopen as surges in the pandemic decrease, artists at San José State will continue to adapt. 具有挑战性的 as it has been to produce music, art, 跳舞 and theater during COVID, Cooper remains hopeful that the Spartan artistic community will thrive.

“Throughout history, some of the greatest art has come out of adversity,” she said. 

“Suddenly, things aren’t as comfy as they were before. 我们没有同样的奢侈品. I think going through these challenges inside a community of people can lead to really powerful, meaningful work 在 arts. It will be interesting to follow that path 看看艺术家们做了什么.”