In May, the School of Dance will present “ D-Man in the Waters,” a New York Dance and Performance “Bessie” Award winning work by renowned director and choreographer Bill T. Jones. The work will be reconstructed for TNUA students by US dancer and choreographer Catherine Cabeen with assistance from TNUA alumna Yu Yen-Fang.
In addition to giving lectures and demonstrations at TNUA, Ms. Cabeen and Yu will guide over a dozen students in their rehearsals for the School of Dance’s early summer production.
Ms. Cabeen was a dancer with the Bill T. Jones/Arnie Zane Dance Company from 1997 to 2005. She now manages Catherine Cabeen and Company.
Ms. Cabeen said“D-Man in the Waters” is about people supporting each other and the shift between pain and happiness. The work was inspired by a dream that Bill T. Jones had about his dancers drowning and trying to rescue one another. Therefore, the dance has a lot of swimming imagery.
Prof. Heng Ping, dean of the School of Dance, pointed out that the school’s project of reconstructing classic western dances has included the productions of Kurt Jooss’“ The Green Table” from 1932 and Trisha Brown’s “ Sololos” from 1976.
This year, the production of Jones’“ D-Man in the Waters,” choreographed in 1989, is in linewith the purpose of giving students a chanceto systematically learn different modern dance techniques from different periods. The project also aims to educate students about the art of the masters.
Prof. Ping said the project not only hones the students’ skills, but also gives them first-hand experience of how internationally renowned choreographers rehearse and work and exposes them to international performances. All of this helps prepare students for studies abroad.