My final project for Advanced Writing/ Design Workshop is borne from an 'inner necessity' for representation. I am creating a fanzine following 'Qui Vive,' a student-choreographed and produced piece brought to fruition in Peck School of The Art's Dance Senior Capstone, titled New Dance Makers: Transcendence. As my last zine would suggest, college has led me to some astounding people who have drawn my attention toward dance as an art form. The portion of my theatre-kid brain that has been underutilized while starting my career in English ed. has been completely absorbed by dance. Being able to witness the creation of a piece of art so deeply expressive, poignant, and representative of the experiences of my life is a rare opportunity, one that I feel the need to immortalize in a 16-page fan-made book. This obsession of mine is largely thanks to the choreographer, designer, and producer of Qui Vive, (and also my partner) Sydney Bannach.
My zine sets out to explain the power of Qui Vive as a representation of the ever-shrinking space that lesbians are allowed to take up both in the dance world and the more general one, asking; 'What is Qui Vive?' and 'Why Qui Vive?' It will begin with explaining the context and research that went into the dance's creation, highlighting Daughters of Bilitis' The Ladder, a women's and queer rights organization zine (zine-ception). This historic zine informed Bannach's research on lesbian-oriented dance spaces, which are sparse even in 2023.
Using short interviews with the cast and choreographer, this zine will illustrate the importance of queer representation and relationships in art, speaking specifically to the stigmas around even implied sapphic romantic interactions in dance spaces. It will also encapsulate the importance of the interpersonal relationship-building that occurred within this emotional and expressive process, which culminated in a more connective performance each night. As a fan zine, I want to work to not ignore my own voice as a fan! I'll be including my own perspective on why this dance affected me (and so many other weepy audience members) so much. Why it was so astounding to see an entirely queer cast express a story I have never been able to witness on a stage (despite lining it), created by a nonbinary lesbian artist who I already adore.
While deeply biased, I hope to share a story of the power of one person's art to give a voice to, while simultaneously creating community.
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