Grad student’s thesis project explores hardships, liberation in short dance films
Dance MFA student Marianna Varviani's thesis project "Time to Dream" is a reflection on reality, hope, and the embodied experience of oppression.
"Marianna Varviani’s thesis project “Time to Dream” creates a dreamscape rooted in reality.
(Courtesy of Sophia Alexioui) The MFA student and choreographer will premiere her project, which features a collection of seven short dance films, on Thursday. Varviani said the seven performers were given characters and tasked with embodying the struggle of acknowledging and liberating oneself from present-day hardships. In terms of inspiration, she said she looked to the possibility of a future without the pandemic and rampant crimes against people of color.
“Since reality as it is right now is not good or just, I found hope in thinking of a future different than the past and the present,” Varviani said. “I figured we need to imagine it and dream it into existence.”
Varviani said the choreography for “Time to Dream” is a language of movement, created through a collaboration between herself and her dancers despite the struggle of conceptualizing her vision entirely on Zoom. She said the pandemic not only influenced the themes present in her thesis but also resulted in the dancers meeting for the first time in person on filming day. Despite the virtual boundaries during rehearsals, Varviani said she was still able to draw from the memories and emotions her dancers exuded. She said she hoped the audience and the performers can each make a personal connection with the material."— Anjika Friedman-Jha, May 12, 2021
This post is an excerpt. Read the full article on the Daily Bruin website.
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