Christina Tillis - Participating in a Performing Arts Group or Ensemble (Gold - 6 points)

 

    I participated in the performance, “Inscribed: New Visions of Black Femme Freedom,” which encapsulated the deeper emotions and archetypes within Black women. My piece named “Mammy” explored the movement of a woman whose entire life is subjected to service to others. This piece paid homage to all mothers, aunts, and caretakers who want to find solace. 

One strength of this transformative experience was that all the dancers in this performance were able to embody their archetypes’ nuance with extreme scrutiny. Each of the dancers in the ensemble were responsible for a Black female archetype, and we all worked collaboratively to make each archetype layered and complex. However, one weakness was the limited number of practices before our performance. In the future, we should better utilize our time together to ensure our performances are cohesive and polished. 

This experience allowed me to expand my choreographic voice through matriculation at Spelman. As I take dance future classes, I know the trends and patterns of my own choreographic process and how I can use art, memories, and emotion to make a beautiful piece. Through this experience, I know how my body creates movement and how my mind contextualizes that movement. 

My performance influenced my goals of incorporating creativity in my adult life. I enjoy the feeling of creating a piece of work with my body, so I will continue to create pieces of work that challenge my perception of art. Through this performance, the dancers left with a better understanding of their identity. Thus, I want to continue to build from that euphoric experience to create my distinct artistic voice.  

By Christina Tillis