Ball State Featured at the Children's Museum

INDIANAPOLIS - The Children's Museum of Indianapolis welcomed in Ball State's Dance Department for a special performance in their new exhibit.

The museum opened up new exhibits for the season, and this year one was all about dance. The Dance! Exhibit is a way to highlight dance throughout the ages and give spectators the chance to learn something new about the art form. The exhibit even allows spectators the chance to move their feet. With interactive activities teaching people popular dance moves, to a studio full of mirrors and music, those who visit are able to see and try dance in many ways.

Ball State dance majors recently visited the exhibit and shared with the audience an excerpt from ReImagining Mary, a modern dance concert exploring the life of Mary Poppins. For Choreographer, Susan Koper, she feels opportunities like this are invaluable for student's development.

"It's is important for them [students] to understand and see that dance doesn't just happen on campus or in Korsgaard Dance Studio or University Theatre for their friends - that it is important to include community and expose new audiences to dance," Koper said.

The students performed a 10-minute excerpt from the show, discussed their dance background and took questions from the audience on the life of a dancer. For performer, Hannah St. Aubin, the performance was a way for her to share her passion for dance with a greater community. It's this community interaction that she feels will help people grow in many ways.

"It's important to showcase dance to people who may not be familiar because I believe dance can create so many connections. Dance performance can open up potential for non-dancers, artistically and intellectually. The more people know about our craft, the more we are able to inspire and create art with so many different cultures/people," St. Aubin said.

While ReImagining Mary has graced many stages now, Koper's hope is that the work will be shown in other environments, as well. By taking the work to new places, she feels the work can be developed to a greater extent.

"It would be exciting to restage the piece in this way and go back and stay in process to keep developing the work and see what evolves," Koper said.

The Dance! Exhibit will continue to stay open for the duration of the year.