Students walking past the dance studio in the Weitz Center for Creativity this past fall likely heard the sounds of pounding feet and panting breath, which are to be expected. But they also would have heard the tick, tick, tick of bamboo sticks being hit together as members of Carleton’s Semaphore Repertory Dance Company rehearsed a new piece that combines modern dance with the martial art of t’ai chi.
“The dance is titled Azoth, an ancient Semitic word that means essence, and the students embody the elements of earth, air, fire, and water,” says Jane Shockley, senior lecturer in dance and co-director of Semaphore. She choreographed the piece with guest artist and master t’ai-chi teacher Ray Hayward.
“Our collaboration grew out of a mutual fascination and reverence for the body, ritual, martial arts, and the mystery of humans in motion,” says Hayward, who teaches t’ai chi at Carleton and at his St. Paul studio.
“I started taking classes with Ray two years ago, and the meditative movements were healing,” says Shockley. “I thought, ‘Why can’t performance be healing and sacred and spiritual?’ This dance creates an environment and energy for the performers as well as for the audience.”
Azoth debuted at the Semaphore fall concert in November and will be performed again at the company’s spring concert in May.