figure skating Archives | Research & Innovation

Emerging dance masters unveil new works

fmaquito — Fri, 10 Feb 2012 10:00:00 +0000

Graduate students Shannon Roberts, Nancy��Latoszewski Greyeyes and Ilse Gudiño, candidates in 91��ɫ’s Master of Fine Arts (MFA) program in choreography and dance dramaturgy, premiere new choreographies for ensembles in Temenos. The show, performed by professional and pre-professional dancers, runs Feb.��15 to 17 in the Sandra Faire & Ivan Fecan Theatre at��the Keele campus.

Shannon Roberts. Photo by��David Hou

The Greek word temenos refers to a piece of land cut off from common use, often dedicated as a place for worship. Historically, the proscenium stage has been regarded as a space reserved for particular users and dedicated to expressing the meanings that infuse our bodies and relationships.

As well as addressing the concept of the stage as a special site, the three emerging choreographers build on the idea of the dancing body itself as temenos – simultaneously separated from society’s imposed meanings, and infused with individual sources of meaning for each artist.

“Their dances focus on navigating the proscenium stage as a site for researching the body’s memories and cultural constructions,” said Professor Darcey Callison, the production’s artistic director. “From delving into the historical roots of flamenco, to exploring a family narrative of coal miners in Pennsylvania, to challenging the complexity of the male gaze, these choreographers investigate the proscenium theatre as temenos: a theatrical space that frames these works in order to make visible the body as a conduit for memories and social conditions that permeate their choreography.”��

Fusing modern dance with her athletic background, Shannon Roberts incorporates Bollywood, ballet, jazz, modern, hip hop, figure skating and flying trapeze into her work. Her choreography is inspired by social issues and the people, artwork and cultures she has experienced in her travels around the world.��

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Roberts’ work, A Way of Seeing, is a discourse between Edvard Munch’s painting Woman in Three Stages and writer John Berger’s influential book Ways of Seeing. Investigating how a woman’s experience is informed through youth, sexuality and aging, this trio explores a sensual physical language that frames the private experience as public display.

��Ilse Gudiño Barthold. Photo by David Hou

In her piece, In the Marrow: A��Crucial Journey, Ilse Gudiño Barthold explores the history of flamenco as cultural memory and personal expression. Four dancers and four live musicians bring to the stage this complex journey, from a dance form infused with cultural significance to a movement vocabulary that is both personal and contemporary.

Trained in flamenco dance in Madrid and Seville, Gudiño Barthold has been a member of the Esmeralda Enrique Spanish Dance Company since 1997 and has performed as a soloist and with other flamenco dancers across Canada and internationally.

In Valley of Coal, Nancy Latoszewski (Greyeyes) tells the story of her grandparents. Both her grandfathers were Pennsylvania coal miners, and her choreography charts memories of the challenges they faced and the personal sacrifices they made. This narrative choreography is Latoszewski’s way of exploring oral history through her work as a dance artist.

Nancy Latoszewski (Greyeyes). Photo by��David Hou

A former soloist with Feld Ballets NY, Latoszewski has also been a principal dancer with the Cleveland San Jose Ballet and Alberta Ballet. Her work has been performed at Nuit Blanche and by Ballet Jörgen, and she has also choreographed for film.

The Temenos program concludes with a structured improvisation created by the 91��ɫ Dance Ensemble’s (YDE) artistic director Holly Small in collaboration with the ensemble, and��performed by the 16 dancers and five musicians of the YDE.

For tickets, contact the Box Office at 416-736-5888.

Republished courtesy of YFile– 91��ɫ’s daily e-bulletin.

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Video: 91��ɫ study from Centre for Vision Research finds Olympic athletes may seem faster in red

fmaquito — Thu, 25 Feb 2010 10:00:00 +0000

Wearing red at the Olympics may give an athlete an easy advantage, according to a 91��ɫ study that shows perceptions of motion are subconsciously affected by colour.

“All things being equal between two figure skaters – including their actual speed on the ice – the judges will perceive a skater in red is moving with greater speed than a skater in blue, and may reward the skater in red with higher marks,” says Mazyar Fallah, a��professor in the School of Kinesiology & Health Science in 91��ɫ’s Faculty of Health.

Above: The 2010 Canadian Olympic team in their red uniforms. Photo: Wikimedia Commons.

The study, conducted by Fallah and co-author Illia Tchernikov in 91��ɫ’s Centre for Vision Research, was published today by the��the Public Library of Science open access peer-reviewed journal .

Their research on visual processing found that people’s eyes more quickly follow a red target on a computer screen more quickly than a green, yellow or especially a blue target.

VIDEO--The Daily Planet covered . The clip runs approximately 20 seconds and begins at the 7:50 mark.

“In sports, the outcome of a competition is supposed to depend on the abilities of the players, rather than the colours they are wearing,” says Fallah. “However, our research shows it may make sense to wear red in a sport such as figure skating, in which you want to be perceived as quick. In contrast, it may be best to wear another colour in a sport in which a referee is handing out penalties.”

The finding that there is a colour hierarchy that automatically guides the selection of what someone will focus on has implications for many sports such as figure skating and gymnastics in which speed may be perceived by a judge rather than measured in milliseconds, Fallah says. It may also be important for other fields such as advertising, in which capturing attention is paramount, and in designing human-computer interfaces that are effective, he said.

Left: Canadian figure skating champion and Olympic competitor Joannie Rochette. Photo: Wikimedia Commons.

Five subjects took part in the study, with each completing about��a thousand��tests. Each participant automatically focused on targets on the screen and all produced the same colour hierarchy, choosing red targets first, followed by green, yellow and blue. This suggests, says Fallah, that the colour hierarchy is inherent, either because of evolution – red is the colour of blood, whereas blue is the colour of the sky – or as a result of experience − red stop signs and traffic signals indicate danger.

Fallah's research was covered by and .

Republished courtesy of YFile – 91��ɫ’s daily e-bulletin.

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91��ɫ students, faculty contribute artistry to Vancouver Olympics

fmaquito — Fri, 12 Feb 2010 10:00:00 +0000

Research at 91��ɫ is broader than books, journal articles, scientific findings or data sets. In the Faculty of Fine Arts, research can result in a dance, piece of music, or animation fit for the world stage.

While the athletes and competitive games are the major focus of the , the 91��ɫ fine arts star is also shining brightly in Vancouver. From the opening ceremonies to national broadcasts and more, 91��ɫ artists will be in the spotlight leading up to and during the Olympic Games, which start today and run to Feb. 28.

Graduate dance student Alejandro Ronceria, who choreographed Toronto’s torch ceremony (see YFile, Dec. 7, 2009), was invited to serve as one of the choreographers on the artistic team for the official opening ceremonies of the Olympic Games. He was also commissioned by the to create a showcase performance, featuring more than 30 Yukon artists, to be presented at several venues during the Games.

Right: Alejandro Ronceria

“The opening ceremonies are beyond top secret,” says Ronceria, who is studying choreography and dance dramaturgy in 91��ɫ's new MFA Program in Dance. “But I can say what a tremendous honour it is to be selected to participate in their creation, and that it’s going to be a fantastic show.

“Working on the Yukon project is equally exhilarating, as it’s my own vision bringing it together,” Ronceria says. “The production will present the best traditional and contemporary arts and artists of the territory. Interweaving music, dance and storytelling against the landscape of the Yukon, it will be a powerful visual and sound experience.”

Lauren O'Neill White, a fourth-year student in 91��ɫ’s undergraduate dance program, is performing in the Olympics’ closing ceremonies. She is one of about a thousand dancers selected from��more than��10,000 online applicants. "I'm thrilled for this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity," she says. "It's been a roller-coaster ride."

Left: Lauren O'Neill White

O’Neill White has been in Vancouver for rehearsals since December (with a two-week break for the Christmas holidays). The work is very intensive: rehearsals started with four-hour sessions daily, escalating to full-day rehearsals as the big day gets closer.

With her three-month stint on the West Coast, O’Neill White is completing her final semester by correspondence and an independent study on the Olympic ceremonies. Outside of rehearsal she is keeping very busy with dance classes, her studies and making friends.

“This truly is a unique and phenomenal way to meet people,” O’Neill White says. “Everybody at rehearsal comes from such different backgrounds, and we all merge in this huge space with the one common interest of performing. It's great.”

Participating in the Olympics in a very different creative capacity is alumnus Felix Lau (BDes Spec. Hons. ’09). He was hired by CTV as a junior motion designer shortly after graduation, and has been working on animated graphics for the Olympics since he started on the job in mid-August.

Right: Felix Lau

Lau has moved from strength to strength since last summer, when he picked up��two Applied Arts Student Awards in the��online animation category as well as the CTV Creative Agency Award for Motion Graphics Design in the Registered Graphic Design��Ontario Student Member Awards��(see YFile, Sept.��3, 2009).

“So far I’ve worked on two styles of segments [for the Olympics],” says Lau. “The athlete features are 30 seconds in length and use shots of the athletes in action while an announcer reads their accomplishments in a voice-over. The other segments are the mini-opens, which are only 10 seconds in length and use both video and still images to create an interesting visual break between regular programming.”

Like many Olympians, Lau is part of a team in his endeavour. “There are at least 15 people working on the massive Olympics design project at any given time, and more people are allocated when the need arises,” he says.

Some segments Lau has worked on are already being aired, but others won’t be seen until the Olympic Winter Games start.

The Olympics may also feature 91��ɫ music talent. Canadian figure skaters Vanessa Crone and Paul Poirier set their short program at the national competition in London, Ontario – which placed second overall and qualified them for the Olympics – to En Malaga, a dramatic and lyrical flamenco score composed and performed by Department of Music faculty member .

Right: Roger Scannura

“I’m positive they will use the same routine for the Olympics,” says Scannura. “While I didn’t originally compose the song for them, it’s wonderful to see how they are using my music, and where it’s going.”

With six CDs to his credit, Scannura is an internationally recognized flamenco guitarist. This is not the first time his music has been connected to top-level athleticism: Nike used one of his songs for a World Cup commercial in 2006.

Alumna Jennifer Jimenez (BFA Spec. Hons & BEd ’99)��is the lighting designer for the Cultural Olympiad remount of the Judith Thompson play ,��which��debuted yesterday and will continue until Feb. 17 at Vancouver's Firehall Arts Centre.

Right: A scene from Body��& Soul

An international theatre maker and facilitator, Jimenez has designed lighting for projects with numerous UK companies including Circus Space, the Bath International Puppetry Festival and Arcola Theatre. Her recent Canadian credits include lighting design for The President in the Shaw Festival’s 2008 season and working with Robert Lepage’s company, Ex Machina, on the creation of Le Projet Anderson and The Busker's Opera. She currently works as resident lighting designer for Tottering Biped Theatre.

On the stage and behind the scenes, the Olympics allow more than just athletes to demonstrate their excellence. Follow all the festivities and events on the Web site.

Republished courtesy of YFile – 91��ɫ’s daily e-bulletin.

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