REBECCA HALE
Assistant Reverb Editor
Rosy Simas, a well-known contemporary dancer, came to Fredonia last week to teach, as well as to perform, her new piece, “We Wait in the Darkness.” Simas is known for her unique style, which she adapted from her Seneca heritage.
On a tight schedule, Simas flew into Fredonia after a performance on Wednesday night to meet students and to get started on teaching and rehearsing. Thursday night, Simas taught an interactive master class on her dance style, to which students responded well.
“A lot of us didn’t really know what to expect; it was super different from anything we’re used to,” said Alexa Lindberg, a senior BFA dance and acting dual major. “We’ve never had that kind of style before, but I think we were all really engaged and focused the entire time.”
One key thing Simas told the students was to dance with the skin, rather than the muscle. This was a new and difficult concept for many of the student dancers.
“The idea of moving with your skin instead of your muscles is something I’ve never thought of before,” said Lindberg.
Simas described the feeling she gets when dancing this way, as “finding yourself after losing yourself.” Simas said that “discovering how your body might move from a different system is useful.”
After the master class, auditions were held for the piece which Simas choreographed for Fredonia students. The piece will be rehearsed until May, when it will be presented as a piece within annual Fredonia Dance Ensemble production. After Simas leaves later this week, students Michelle Kirisits and Noelle Lazor will step in as rehearsal assistants to continue leading rehearsals.
“During the rehearsals while she’s here for this week, we’ll be trying to learn as much of the material that the dancers are doing as possible, so that way when Rosy leaves, we’ll know how to make corrections and lead the dancers in the right path,” Lazor explained.
The dancers aren’t sure what to expect yet in terms of the new piece, but it will undoubtedly be interesting and different than anything Fredonia Dance Ensemble has done in the past.
“[Simas’] work seems to be quite sensitive, quite emotional. Her [Seneca] background informs her work,” said Helen Myers, coordinator of the dance program. “I think it will bring nice depth to the concert.”
Friday and Saturday, Simas performed “We Wait in the Darkness” in Bartlett Theatre. The piece is “an art/dance work to heal the DNA scars of [Simas’] grandmother, her mother, and [their] ancestors,” according to the program notes. Simas explained that to the Seneca, traumatic experiences (such as the death of her grandmother) live on through the body, as “DNA scars.” Simas heals these scars through her meditative dances.
This piece in particular was performed to ambient sounds, such as clock noises, waves and thunder, rather than music. The dance consisted of slow, controlled movements that rose and fell with the sounds. A video also accompanied the performance, as well as a sort of narrator who read letters about Simas’ childhood from the perspective of her grandmother.
Simas will teach one last master class this Thursday from 5-7 p.m., which is free and open to the public.