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ÌÇÐÄ´«Ã½ and WABE Host Exclusive Screening of New Documentary Highlighting Dance Performance and Choreography at Spelman
Spelman Dance Documentary “Beyond the Movement” Showcases Art, Innovation at HBCUs
On Monday, ÌÇÐÄ´«Ã½ and WABE welcomed students and the Atlanta community to campus for an exclusive screening of “Beyond the Movement,” a new documentary centered around Spelman’s Dance Performance and Choreography Department.
“Beyond the Movement” is part of a dynamic lineup of eight new short films highlighting fine and performing arts at Historically Black Colleges and Universities as part of Maryland Public Television’s ‘HBCU Week NOW’ programming initiative. The films were produced by a partnership of PBS stations in observance of HBCU Week to celebrate the rich legacies of HBCUs.
The short films showcase the dynamic fine arts programs at HBCUs like Howard University, North Carolina A&T State University and more. “Beyond the Movement” explores how Spelman’s Dance Performance and Choreography Department integrates technology into its curriculum, inspiring innovation among emerging dance and choreography professionals.
“In a world increasingly shaped by the digital, our students must be fluent in both embodied knowledge and technological innovation. Yesterday’s “stage” and its practices are fading. Our department has been committed to cultivating creators who can ‘code,’ design, map, layer, and project Black futures in real time,” said T. Lang, associate professor and inaugural chair of the Dance Performance and Choreography Department at Spelman. “Technology isn’t merely an embellishment to dance yet an integral partner in shaping the choreographic vision. It enables us to push the boundaries of movement beyond the physical limitation, providing tools to archive and amplify the body’s knowledge across time, space, and various platforms.”
Formed in 2017 with over 60 students, the Department of Dance Performance and Choreography at Spelman is a critical and creative thinking laboratory where students investigate intersections of experimental creative practices, cultural discourse and technology. The curriculum centers on the choreographic process through the lens of Black feminist theories, contemporary dance techniques and interdisciplinary collaborative practice.
Last fall, a movement improvisation class at Spelman joined with the Emory Arts & Social Justice Program for a semester-long collaboration. The course, co-taught by Lang, featured an improvisational dance performance with real-time electronic music that explored human agency in AI systems, allowing students to engage with the intersection of art, social justice and technological innovation.
Recently, students from Lang’s Performance Reparatory course collaborated with a team of female engineering students from Georgia Tech to co-design biometric costumes. The dance students wore the prototyped costumes while performing an excerpt from T. Lang Dance’s ‘Thighs of Thunder.’ The biometric engineering in the costumes allowed the dancers’ movements to come alive based on their motion, breath and muscle. The dynamic partnership was an intricate demonstration of how merging movement and science together can expand the possibilities of dance choreography.
“The Department is a laboratory for liberation: cultivating visionary architects of embodied knowledge. It is a space where movement is both theory, practice, research, ritual, and a place to tinker,” said Lang. “At an accelerated state of motion and intellect our dance students learn to create and think critically while unleashing their imagination, learn how to intervene, learn how to lead, and learn how to own.”
Following the documentary viewing, an engaging panel discussion took place featuring Lang and “Beyond the Movement” director Booker T. Mattison. During the discussion moderated by WABE’s senior producer Brianna Ceola, Lang and Mattison expanded on the importance of merging art and technology, the significance of Spelman’s dance program and its impact on aspiring Black female dancers.
The eight new short films, including “Beyond the Movement,” will premiere on the signature YouTube channel throughout the month of September.
Photography credit to Dark Flowers Studio.