麻豆视频

CU Boulder students explore fear, empathy and interconnectedness through dance听

The 麻豆视频 dance division kicks off 2018 with 鈥�,鈥� a dance concert of original pieces by four BFA candidates. The performance, held Feb. 2-4 in CU鈥檚听, showcases each woman鈥檚 eclectic dance background and delves into several unexpected topics, including philosophy, neuroscience and nature.

鈥淐atapult鈥� has allowed Kaitlyn Lawrence, a neuroscience and dance double major, to explore two very different passions in one project. Her piece deals with the relatively new discovery of mirror neurons, the brain system that causes us to feel empathy.

鈥淲hen we see someone fall, we flinch,鈥� Lawrence says. 鈥淲hen someone鈥檚 sad, we feel compassion. I wanted to explore the connection between our own personal memories and the empathy we feel.鈥�

Lawrence explains that we all undergo similar big, emotional life events鈥攑eriods of love, loss, confusion and pain鈥攕o when those events happen to others, we tend to feel empathy because we remember an analogous event that took place in our own lives.

In her untitled piece, Lawrence hopes to show the function of mirror neurons through dance. She and other dancers will draw on their own memories of key life events, such as starting a new job or experiencing heartbreak, to show how all their memories are interconnected.听

鈥淎nyone you ask says there鈥檚 been a time when they鈥檝e felt lost, or a time when they鈥檝e felt pure joy,鈥� Lawrence says. 鈥淚鈥檓 hoping that audiences who see my piece think about these invisible connections we have with each other and how those connections are essential to our survival.鈥�

Mattie McGarey, a philosophy and dance double major, also hopes her piece inspires introspection. Like Lawrence, she鈥檚 using 鈥淐atapult鈥� to explore the connections between her two main areas of study.听

鈥淚鈥檓 interested in the way fear influences how we interact with the world,鈥� McGarey says. 鈥淚鈥檓 interested in how fear impacts our relationships with nature, animals and each other, and how it shapes our vision of reality.鈥�

McGarey believes fear, like empathy, connects all of us. To some degree, she says, we all fear unknown people, places and things, which drives much of today鈥檚 political and social divisions.

鈥淭he pain people feel right now, the instincts people have to protect those they love or protect the future of the world鈥攊t鈥檚 all based on fear,鈥� she says. 鈥淲e live in fear of the unknown, and recognizing that is the first step in freeing our minds and being able to truly connect with each other.鈥�

The raw, powerful, animalistic dance on display in McGarey鈥檚 piece is meant to help audiences explore the idea that we鈥檙e often uneasy with what鈥檚 unfamiliar.听

鈥淚 want people to ask themselves why we鈥檙e uncomfortable when we see movement on stage that isn鈥檛 totally human,鈥� she says. 鈥淚 hope people won鈥檛 write it off as 鈥榦ther.鈥� I hope they鈥檒l try to recognize themselves in it.鈥�