Minutes before noon on March 28th dancers of all ages gathered on the iconic steps at the front of the USF Lone Mountain Campus to join Dance Generators Company’s dance anywhere® celebration. This year Dance Generators is exploring the theme- DIALOGUE so dance anywhere® 2014 was a natural fit.  “We were intrigued by the idea of being part of a global dance effort, and thought it would be a great way to be in dialogue with dancers worldwide” said Artistic Director Natalie Greene.

 The first half of the performance was improvised with groups of 3-5 people moving together, interacting with the space and with other groups. The dancers traveled together from the top of USF’s Lone Mountain down to the picturesque steps of the hill, where they gathered and performed the song “Bring Me Little Water Sylvie.” Dance Generators’  version of this song combined body percussion by Evie Ladin and choregraphy by Natalie Greene. “This song is a part of our ongoing repertory, and is always a company favorite”. Dancers created unique movements on the spot, often drawing inspiration from their surroundings, including benches and stairwells, other dancers and unsuspecting passerby in the walkway.  “Lots of good creative juices were flowing! It was a dance born of that exact time and space with that exact combination of people, and it will never happen again. Personally, I think that is really exciting.”

The performance was a collaboration between Dance Generators Company and the USF flash mob class, composed of dancers relatively new to performing. Because the newer dancers had some trepidation about site-specific improvisation on their college campus, the Dance Generators were the creative leaders of the piece.  “I thought it was a wonderful trial by fire for new dancers to get out and move and stop worrying so much about what other people think. In the end, everyone had a good experience and learned a lot from this somewhat spontaneous collaboration”.

Because the performance was in a bustling public thoroughfare, the audience had a variety of responses. Many onlookers observed the dance for a minute or two, then continued with their day, and there were a handful of people who followed the group through the entire performance and sang or hummed along to the song. “There seemed to be a range of emotions in the crowd – surprise, confusion, a moment of annoyance followed by a smile or laughter… I think that many people who engage with public space in ritualized and prescribed ways were taken aback by this creative interruption, and many were appreciative of this shift of tone in the walkways”.

Dance Generators was pleased by audience response to social media after the performance. KQED and USF Media crews in attendance filmed the journey of the dancers and shared on facebook, twitter and several blogs.  “We have received many “likes” on our facebook from people who were not able to attend. It’s wonderful that the dance can live on in that way, and that we can also look online to see what other dancers were doing at the exact same time!” Natalie looks forward to dance anywhere®  next year.  “It was and has become a dialogue with dancers, technology, media, time and space… we are thrilled”.

For more information on Dance Generators Company visit their website or dance anywhere page