For the collaborative aspect of my Humanities portfolio, I have choreographed a dance for my younger sister, Virginia Chimley, expressing the challenges of growing into womanhood in an often misogynistic world, entitled “Sweet Sixteen.” She has found dance to be a retreat throughout her adolescence, and cooperating with her in this medium provides unique context for my retelling of the story of young women coming of age. My collaboration with my sister allows for connections to my sixteen-year-old self through her own experiences at the same age. A video of the dance is available here.
Although my initial plans for a collaborative project were not possible due to the COVID-19 pandemic, I feel that I have been able connect with my experience in the Humanities course through choreography. Initially, I had little understanding of the complex nature of creating even a short dance. However, in collaboration with Virginia’s knowledge of technical skill, I developed my own ideas of movements to express my emotional relationship to my own adolescence. Throughout the Humanities course, we have explored unique and complex dimensions of subjects that we might never otherwise give thought. I was inspired by Professor Bory’s unit on the power of dance as an ephemeral and transient medium for stunningly powerful expression. In connection with my definition of revolution, I realized that I could retell the story of my own youth through dance in a manner that could be even more truthful than a written history.
