Art may imitate life, but tomorrow night, life will imitate art.
While the Fowler Out Loud series has featured many dance groups in the past, tomorrow night’s “Art Euphoria” dance performance is different: Its pieces were primarily inspired by art on display at the UCLA Fowler Museum and the Los Angeles County Museum of Art.
Twelve dancers from the UCLA School of Theater, Film and Television and the world arts and cultures department will be showcasing their interpretations of various artworks through dance at the outdoor Fowler Auditorium.
The performance will feature a diverse range of music to accompany the choreography: Expect artists such as Frou Frou, Pink, Evanescence, Beth Hart and James Newton Howard.
“It’s mainly modern dance and ballet, but we have some jazz numbers,” said Emma Harris, a first-year theater student who choreographed and costumed the event. “Most of the dances are about letting go of your inhibitions and allowing yourself to know people and share in life with others rather than judging them by what they look like.”
Harris casually quotes Bertolt Brecht, an early 20th century German poet and director, when describing the motivation behind putting together “Art Euphoria.”
“Brecht said that “˜Art is not a mirror held up to reality, but a hammer with which to shape it,'” Harris said. “I believe that art shapes communities, whether it’s theater, dance, visual art or other media. Art is what makes us as people.”
One exhibit that sparked Harris’s vision was “Art of Being Tuareg,” currently on display at the Fowler Museum.
The exhibit gives a glimpse into the modern lives of the nomadic Tuareg people of sub-Saharan Africa who have been often inaccurately judged by the western world as an exotic people stuck in the past.
“The statement that I really wanted to make was one about how our culture is growing and shifting, and yet there’s still a sense of irritability among people who aren’t the same as one another,” Harris said. “We still have stereotypes.”
Selina Traylor, the campus outreach coordinator for the Fowler Museum, booked the event after encouraging students in an introductory theater class Harris was taking to put something together for the Fowler Out Loud series.
“I wanted to see if I could get some new flavor in the series, and (Harris) is embracing some of the exhibitions’ content,” said Traylor. “We don’t have Tuareg musical groups around L.A. to bring into the museum, so it’s nice that even though they’re not performing any traditional Tuareg music, they’re using their own stylized interpretation to express some of the art in the museum. It’s a unique tactic.”
Harris and her co-choreographer, Cami Gonzales, wanted to address such weighty issues through dance rather than another artistic medium not only because both are longtime dancers, but also because they feel that dance is relatable to audiences in ways other art forms are not.
“Whether it’s technical or dancing at a party, everyone can connect with dance,” said Gonzales, a first-year theater student. “I think it’s a really good way for people to see us and the issues we’re trying to tackle.”
Though the performance is short, clocking in at only 45 minutes, the talent and sentiment behind this production are vast.
In a piece about letting go of inhibitions, the dancers slowly transition from being isolated in the beginning to finding a connection as they exit.
“The dances are not big and flashy, but they’re full of meaning. There’s a lot of pretty sophisticated technique involved, and each dance tells a story,” Gonzales said. “We’re hoping that people will leave a little more enlightened.”
Since the Fowler Museum doesn’t close until 8 p.m., there will be time after the performance for those in the audience to visit some of the exhibits that “Art Euphoria” was based on and to find additional inspiration on their own.
Two current exhibitions at the Fowler are the Keiskamma Altarpiece and “Dress Up Against AIDS,” both of which deal with the AIDS epidemic in a creative, insightful way.
But whether audience members are inspired by art, dance or music, Harris stresses that all of the various art forms used in “Art Euphoria” are working for one common purpose: to affect the lives of others.
“It’s about creating art for the sake of really making an impact on those around you,” she said. “In years to come, I think stereotypes can be erased and that we can all live together, function together and create together.”