Dance majors twirl, leap and sashay through college. But while the public may think these dancers are headed for a career on Broadway or as prima ballerinas, some dancers hope their skills will contribute to more than just the world of art.
Lindsey Bauer, a third-year performance and choreography graduate student, is one of these hopeful dancers. By working with QSpeak Theatre -- a local company for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and questioning youth -Bauer has begun to accomplish this goal.
Bauer became involved with QSpeak Theatre two years ago when she was looking for an opportunity to bridge artistic talent with activism. She met the group's director, A. Beck, when she decided to do her master of fine arts thesis on the topic of how location affects LGBTQ youth in the Phoenix area.
Beck, who graduated ASU in 2006 with her master of fine arts in theater for youth, says QSpeak Theatre started as an idea for her thesis project.
"I was very against [the idea at first] because I didn't want to do a one-time shot with youth and then walk out of their lives," Beck says. "So I started doing theater workshops with LGBTQ youth, ... and I started getting their stories, so I started writing a script."
The script became "Stepping Out," QSpeak's first performance. Now, with the help of Bauer, Beck is incorporating dance into QSpeak's second performance, "On the Move," premiering April 27.
Bauer contributed a small performance that will be a part of "On the Move," a compilation of true stories of LGBTQ young people.
"'On the Move' is a collection of stories depicted in dialogue scenes and movement," Bauer says. "This is not a narrative. ... It's more conceptual. I wouldn't consider it just dance or just theater, but it is a collaboration of both."
The youth performers in "On the Move," were at first scared about trusting their own bodies and dancing on stage because they had no background with dance, Beck says.
But even though QSpeak Theatre offers a positive opportunity for these performers to express their feelings, not everyone in the community supports QSpeak's efforts. One woman walked out a performance of a piece from "On the Move," claiming that the troupe's movements were not dance and that she wanted her money back, Beck says.
Despite a few negative responses, the youth felt that they really connected with the audience, Beck says.
"Dancing for social change is a way to help communicate stories, ideas and problems in a physical way, and it's really powerful because it is of the body," Bauer says. "As opposed to shouting or saying something, you become something else: a visual image. There is an automatic sensing that happens - an empathy kind of feeling."
Reach the reporter at: megan.m.salisbury@asu.edu
