Ten Loyola Dance majors travel to Rome and study with professional company.
By Alexandra Ditoro
At the end of May, eight Loyola dancers, including myself, embarked on the journey of a lifetime to Rome, where we rehearsed and performed with Mandala Dance Company, a professional dance company, through a Loyola undergraduate research grant, the Provost Fellowship. Two majors who completed the program last year participated through independent study. With guidance from our mentor and Loyola faculty member Amy Wilkinson, we conducted practice-based performative research as we studied with Mandala Dance Company in Rome.
The dancers who participated in the mentored research project titled Nunc Dimittus — Latin translation: now lettest thou depart (merriam-webster.com) — were: Demiana Agaiby, dance and psychology major; Abagail Darrow, dance and business management major; Marisa Dickens, dance and international studies major, Alexandra Ditoro (me), dance and journalism major; Molly Gehrmann, dance major, musical theatre and film and digital media minor; Nicole Golonka, dance and psychology major; Allison Haussler, dance and psychology major; Shannon Shahinian, dance and social work major.
Yariana Baralt-Torres, dance and sociology major, and recent Loyola graduate Phoebe Coakley, dance major, environmental science minor, studied independently alongside the group.
Keep reading to learn more about the project, and check out this video by sophomore Molly Gehrmann to see some of the highlights of the trip:
The Fellowship
Loyola University defines the Provost Fellowship as, “the largest, most flexible, and most diverse fellowship offered by the Loyola Undergraduate Research Opportunities Program (LUROP).” This fellowship is awarded to students conducting research under the mentorship of a faculty member. Loyola’s dance program was awarded a provost fellowship for their mentored research project Nunc Dimittus, led by Wilkinson.
This trip marked the third year that the program received the Provost Fellowship, two of those times for its dance research in Rome. Receiving this fellowship provides the participating dance researchers the opportunity to perform at Loyola’s Research Symposium in the spring. The dance students and Wilkinson are grateful for the Undergraduate Research Program’s continuous support of research in the arts.
Rehearsals & Performance with the Professional Company
The reason for our trip was to research dance and the differences between our art in the U.S. when compared to our craft in Rome. During the trip, we attended classes and rehearsals every day with Mandala Dance Company beginning at 9:30 a.m. following an hour bus ride from the Rome center. Our days began with a class taught by either Wilkinson or the company’s artistic director and choreographer Paola Sorressa. After class, we learned and rehearsed Focus, a piece from Mandala’s repertoire. After Focus rehearsal, we broke for lunch and then began work on Bolero, a piece co-choreographed by Sorressa and Wilkinson.
The rehearsal process was educational, challenging, and exciting. For example, we had class and rehearsed for six and a half hours every day, where we were challenged with keeping up with the professional dancers and the artistic director. We worked intensely with the company and learned so much about this professional and the artistic world. The process was intense, with lots of floor work, athletic movement and improvisation. On top of all that, we learned from the Mandala dancers that, not only are simple transitions important, but eye contact, interaction with others onstage and full commitment to the movement are as well.
Even with the language barrier, we communicated and united to create art. Often, when speaking to one another, we had moments where we would not understand each other. It was difficult to understand some of the corrections given to you or what movement was required from you; however, by watching the person dance, we could understand. Sometimes, Sorressa would tell us what she wanted us to do and we would not quite understand. Then she would use movement, and we were able to understand.
The company members had intricate, deliberate movement qualities and used their focus to enhance their dancing and their connections with each other onstage. Because the company danced with such intention, it brought a different and powerful energy to the stage, which we fed off and learned from. The company members we worked with are: Angelo Carrubba, Juan Angel Guarnica, Elisa Lauria, Elena Pera, Chiara Tedeschi, and Chiara Tosti.
During our last night in Rome, we presented three pieces at the Greco Theatre, or Teatro Greco. During the show, seven Loyola dancers performed Reba, a work that was choreographed by Wilkinson and completed in Chicago before we left for Rome. We also showcased Focus, a piece from Mandala’s Repertoire that was performed with the company; and Bolero, a collaborative work presented by the Loyola dancers and the company.
Our project’s title, Nunc Dimittus, had more meaning than we originally thought. Departing on this journey will forever change how we all think about and approach dance. Performing with Mandala Dance Company taught me many things, including the importance of using your focus to fully embody the movement given to you by the choreographer, something we could not have learned to this extent in any other setting. Leaving the U.S. challenged us to communicate with and learn from fellow artists who do not speak our language, often without using words.
Some of the ladies’ personal insights are detailed here:
“An incredible experience of culture, artistic renewal and community building – traveling to Rome was an opportunity that revealed the value of approaching movement in a proximate manner. The epiphany bore a profound curiosity and intimate relationship with the presented material, which contributed to a holistically embodied performance.” –Demiana Agaiby
“Exploring my passion in a new city — especially Rome — gave me a new perspective on who I am and who I want to be as an artist. The concept behind our art form was slipping from my mind, and I began to struggle with why I dance. However, because I was given the opportunity to work with new minds across the world, perform in a static environment, and challenge myself physically, I believe that my mind has reconnected with my art. I will always remember where I came back in sync with dance and I’m forever grateful.” –Abagail Darrow
“Italy proved to be a sensory experience with the flavors of Italian cuisine and wine paired with the movement between two different cultures.” –Marisa Dickens
“Training with the Mandala Dance Company was an incredible experience that made me aware of how important it is to be fully present and pay close attention to details in order to communicate through movement as an individual and as a group.” –Molly Gehrmann
“Studying under Mandala Dance Company was rigorous and transformative. I experienced how art can unify people in a way nothing else can and am incredibly grateful for how genuine the company was. Their willingness to help us discover new things about ourselves as artists and humans is something I will continually cherish.” –Nicole Golonka
“The energy and emotional connection I felt with every dancer onstage, despite the cultural differences and short rehearsal process, was extremely rewarding and emphasized dance as a means of bringing people together.” –Allison Haussler
“Studying with the Mandala Dance Company proved to me just how powerful the art of dance can be when used as a medium of communication. The language barrier between us and the Mandala dancers was intimidating at first but proved to be an exciting way to study the importance of body movement.” –Shannon Shahinian
Culture & History
During our time in Rome, most of the day was reserved for classes and rehearsals. However, we still had time to explore Rome’s rich culture and history. The first full night in Rome, we attended a reserved wine tasting — legal age in Rome is 16 — at which we learned about Italian wine and how to properly taste a newly opened bottle. Later that night (after a quick stop for gelato), we walked to the Colosseum, the largest Amphitheatre ever built where gladiator battles, executions and other deadly events occurred.
Our group also toured the famous ancient burial grounds, necropolis, and joined Mandala Dance Company for a dinner on the beach. The next day, we had a group meditation with the company members to help us relax and heal for our upcoming performance. Many dancers’ favorite stop was the Trevi fountain, where we threw a coin into the fountain, which many believe will bring you back to Rome someday.
One of our final destinations was a tour of the Vatican. The highlight of that visit was the historic Sistine Chapel, which was more awe-inspiring than any of us imagined. The Vatican also had a giftshop, where many of us bought mementos to help us remember our time in Rome.
As well as seeing the city, we visited the many stores, including gelato shops, around the Spanish Steps. We also traveled to Ladispoli each day, where the Mandala Dance Company rehearses.
Coming Home
When the week was over, we were tired and ready to return to Chicago, but we enjoyed our brief time in The Eternal City. From the dancing, culture, and food to the friendly new faces we met, this trip was inspirational, educational and life changing. We left Rome with a new sense of ourselves and left more aware of our movement and focus. It was truly a gift to be able to immerse ourselves with so many hard-working, driven artists. Because of the amazing relationship we formed with the company, one dancer Nicole Golonka will be returning in October to train with the company on scholarship for nine months. Many thanks to Amy Wilkinson, Paola Sorressa, the Office of Undergraduate Research, and everyone else who made this trip possible.