This past Friday marked a regular favorite at the festival, “Class Switch Day”.  For one day only, students could switch their daily schedules to practice with faculty that they may not normally see during the festival.

Hip hop dancers to ballet, Pilates abandonment for extra modern, and many flocked to yoga for some much needed afternoon relief. I even talked with one student who took a pre and post class from the wonderfully animal Kathleen Hermesdorf and Albert Mathias.

I decided to have a technique heavy day, with David Dorfman’s morning modern, the treat of Jenna Riegel teaching Lisa’s class, and clubbing with Kathleen and Albert post lunch.  Not only was the day very “physical,” (so sorry to use my least favorite, least descriptive dance word) but I was thrown for a loop mentally with the excitingly different styles of each class.

Let’s start at the top:

David began with a much appreciated, friendly warm-up.  Not only was it body-friendly after the soreness from Week 2 sunk in, but David (in his signature fashion) took time throughout the class to remind us all to connect to everyone in the room.  At the conclusion of the 40ish person class, he knew every dancer’s name.

Jenna Riegal powered through the second class, having all of the students leaping and attempting to imitate her insane (-ly good) energy throughout the class.  Once 12:30 hit, we all bounced our way over to Commons to refuel and ponder her ability to jump just so gosh-darn big.

After lunch, Kathleen and Albert’s class began with a fire alarm.  After we shuffled back into the gym, Albert and Kathleen seamlessly began the class and the awkwardness of the alarm was quickly forgotten.  Also important to note: Kathleen is one of the most inventive and unabashedly generous improviser to ever live.  Fact.  Also fact, the class felt like it lasted about 5 minutes.

Overall, class switch day=great success!  It was a great way to end Week 2 and energize us all for the final week.

-Sophie

Photo by Thomas Haentzschel

Mike Vargas is a virtuosic listener.  His compositions, performances, collaborations, and improvisations are informed by his surroundings.  On the stage, he draws from his bank of musical memory. For dance, he listens to moving bodies and energetic shifts.

Although Mike initially trained as a classical pianist, he is largely self-taught via a sensitive ear.  Working in a record store sparked his interest in music’s diversity.  He explained “that’s when I began listening to music that was not pop.”  This exposure led him to dabble in virtually every type of music, from free jazz and world to found sound and electronic.   Today, he draws from it all in his improvisations.

On Tuesday, the Bates dance community listened to his original work What Is an Open Mind?. The atonal melody wove in and out of itself, always interrupting and being interrupted.  Mike explained this element of the piece’s structure: “It’s like walking on top of crusty snow in the winter, and you’re not sure when you will fall in.”  He artfully utilized a variety of textures, as one might use different energies on unstable ground.  The music featured sparse notation in one moment and a chaotic palette in the next.

In addition to the concert stage, Mike improvises for dancers, and has been doing so since 1978.  His extensive work in the field has taught him to listen to movement and energy, then convert it into music.  Peek into Plavin studio between nine and ten thirty and you may hear a jolly Strauss-esque waltz, an electronic drum set groove, or an ethereal gong soundscape.  His sense of musical possibility is endless.

For Mike, the most rewarding aspect of improvising for dance classes is working in real time.  In human time.  He is not merely an accompanist; he is certainly not a human jute-box; he is an artistic collaborator.

To hear clips of Mike’s compositions and check out funky photos of his former facial hair, visit his website: www.mikevargas.net

-Brianna