But Where There’s Hope There’s Life
A Collaborative Project by Health and Kinesiology Dance Program, Performance Studies, History and VisualizationA few years ago, The Academy for the Visual and Performing Arts at Texas A&M, brought in Third Rail Productions who created a project for performance studies and dance students. It was an immersive dance theatre work that was staged in Downtown Bryan in the old lumber building. Throughout the development of this project, TAMU faculty leaders worked with students and guest artists to create a unique experience for the community. The collaborative efforts that took place with Third Rail Productions inspired the process behind this project.
About the Project
This project, But Where There’s Hope, There’s Life, focuses on the Holocaust and communicating the impact and importance of this event in our history. The work comes at a time in our country where we are questioning the ideas of immigration, human rights, and civility for others.
Each of the participating faculty will bring their unique expertise to the project, allowing a rich, artistic experience for viewers. The choreographers, Carisa Armstrong and Christine Bergeron, had their work Todesmärsche, an excerpt from But Where There’s Hope, There’s Life, premiere at the American College Dance Association South-Central conference. Critics and audience members alike supported the work and it was selected to be included in the Gala concert to represent the region. Most recently But Where There’s Hope, There’s Life was accepted into the Asheville Fringe Festival in Asheville, North Carolina.
The evening length work consists of nine choreographed sections that vary in group size, space, and timing. The performance includes:
- An abstraction of Hitler’s speech and his rise to popularity,
- A look at the everyday lives of people in hiding,
- Depictions of transportation to the concentration camps through the railroad system,
- Examples of daily life in concentration camps, and
- What led to liberation in 1945.
Hope Life is currently in phase three of the project. For more information about the project background, phases, and goals, please visit our Project Details page.
Photography
this text will change