The Necessity of Dance in the Wake of Paris Attacks

Mourners pay tribute in Paris after the attacks. Image courtesy of Creative Loafing.

Excerpt courtesy of Creative Loafing.

“How do we sit and watch dance when the world is falling apart? How do artists continue making art in the wake of the inconceivable?”

An article by David Warner on Creative Loafing provides a look at why dance and other arts are so necessary in the wakes of the tragedies in Paris, in addition to details about MFA grad and MANCC Fellow Lauren Slone. Slone is a professional dancer and choreographer based in NYC and has co-founded with Helen Hansen French the dance/performance company Beacon, which they hope will bring opportunities to the Tampa Bay area.

Warner described Slone’s performance at Beacon:

The opening work in Saturday night’s program…established a Florida connection and a casual, DIY vibe. Co-creators/performers Slone and Loren Davidson brought potted tropical plants onstage, and from time to time Slone would move a plant, change the music on the onstage laptop or shift the direction of the footlights to create shadows on the back wall. Dressed in loose tunics and track pants, moving to a soundtrack that included r&b and what sounded like the early rumblings of an earthquake, the two dancers faced off from time to time as if taking measure of one another, at other times seemingly puzzling their way through the jungle of shadows and light. Slone  — a tall, rangy dancer with elegance and swagger — made a particularly strong impression [….] What [they] gave us…on a night when we were all too conscious of the ugliness in the world, was a reminder of the beauty and dignity around us, too.

Read the article here.