Press

Updraft aerial dance reveals hidden places in our psyche
Frederick News Post, November 2007, by Lauren LaRocca

The answer for modern dancers asking "What next?"

Aerial dance. It's a cross between modern dance and a circus act but something you really have to see to understand: low-flying trapeze, aerial fabric, which is engineered to handle a lot of weight and pressure; rope and harness, and bungee.

Therese Keegan, artistic director and performer of Updraft, said audiences are never bored.

The aerial dance movement was pioneered in the '70s, she said, though its pace has quickened during the past five years, and it's becoming more widespread in the eastern U.S.

Updraft, the aerial dance company in Knoxville, began five years ago with five professional dancers who put on the shows. The same five dancers have been there since its inception.

The company also provides performing arts training; however, students do not perform.

The company also uses yoga "and other spiritual and health practices which enhance the body's ability to move and express," according to its website, GlobalHomestead.org, and offers workshops and seminars in modern and aerial dance, improvisation and choreography and artistic collaboration.

Keegan didn't really get into dance until her college years, which she said is a little unusual in the world of professional dancers. After doing modern dance for years and earning a degree in dance, Keegan ran into an old friend who was then taking trapeze lessons.

"The rest is kind of history," Keegan said. "I'd been a modern dancer for a long time. I was ready for something new."

The company usually puts on what Keegan termed "single concept shows," such as their performance titled "Suite Earth," in which dancers hoped to portray to audiences the connection between humankind and the environment.

Updraft's upcoming show, "Making Singles/Dancing Doubles," consists of all solos and duets. Dancers will use pieces of aerial fabric, for dramatic effect, and some of the music will be original.

Keegan pointed out a piece in the show of a dancer's grandmother's oral history, which was actually recorded and will be played during the routine. The original music that goes along with the piece is a "beautiful, gentle humming," by the granddaughter, Keegan said.

All dancers choreograph collaboratively, she pointed out -- even on solos.

While "Making Singles/Dancing Doubles" tells no story and has no overarching theme, the show is unique in that it features only solo and duet performances, whereas usually all five dancers perform simultaneously.

Dancers will also bring out what they call the "flying cube,' a large (it holds up to four people) cube constructed from metal piping and rope, by Frederick artist Chris Bransome.

"It's your basic cube but suspended in space," Keegan said.

Pieces in "Making Singles/Dancing Doubles" vary from "pensive solos to playful duets," she said.

"One thing I hope my work does is help us access some of the hidden places in our consciousness," Keegan said, "and to strengthen our connection with other people -- on stage or off."

In some of their shows, she said, they are really hoping to inspire action beyond the performance, such as "Suite Earth," which was meant to allow audiences to become aware of their interaction with the Earth and all its living things.

Their company statement reaffirms Keegan's mission, adding that members of Updraft create performances which they hope will "stimulate social activism" and that members are committed to community and self development.

"We aim for something almost spiritual," Keegan continued. "There's something about it that's magical and impossible, but it also brings the deepest and earliest memories of life -- climbing, swinging ... And dreams we've had, like, 'what if I could do this?' and the unconscious feeling of swimming and flying -- and it's very real! Somehow, it transports people."

Return to Main Press Page
View original article