Tuba was a collaboration between Conductor Mathew Brady and the Dance Program. Ms. Okera Hastings, one our senior students, choreographed the piece using different creative elements such as the dance of Obatala (the Yoruba orisha symbolized by the dove) and the story of Noah. The dove brings to him the olive branch at the end of the flood described in the old testament. Ms. Hastings was invited to dance the character of the Dove.
The piece, created to celebrate the end of apartheid in South Africa was conceptualized as a song for an opera chorus. We had a rehearsal with the chorus in which they were introduced to the orisha dances; Professor Carol Kaminsky and Ms. Hastings were present along with Professor's Morejon's History class. One run was done with the choir and Hastings dancing what she had at this point composed using some improvisational elements as well.
A second rehearsal took place in which we chose some motifs the chorus could dance while singing. These was challenging since Professor Morejon was also teaching World History of the Dance during the same period the chorus met. Thus, some arrangements were needed in order for him to attend rehearsal and at the same time teach his History class. The choir also rehearsed how to incorporate the only prop to be used in the piece, an olive branch.
Only a few meetings between Kaminsky and Hastings took place to concretize the elements of the dance that were important for the piece to be composed. The team decided the dove should dress in white given the symbology of the color and its meaning within the Yoruba pantheon and Obatala's archetypal characteristics. Also, the team agreed that Hastings should wear a professional make up that would compensate for a lack of proper lighting on stage.
A dress rehearsal took place on November 5th. The three members of the dance team were present, namely Ms. Okera, Ms. Kaminsky, Dr. Morejon. The entire chorale and the conductors were also present. The piece was run successfully. The exit and the bow were rehearsed for Tuba. The costume, a white skirt with a white long sleeves leotard, worked and so did the prop. Accessories were added the night of the performance as Ms. Kaminsky donated ornaments to Hastings' long dreaded hair to catch the light.
An audience's uproar of approval followed the performance of the piece as Hastings, ending at the top of the raisers, brought her arms up as a sign of victory. The piece was successful at conveying both the meaning of the pact between God and Noah at the end of the flood and what that meant, in song form, within the context of South Africa's end of the apartheid. The receptive and supportive inclusion of conductor Brady made this collaboration possible.
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