STOCKBRIDGE — Most people take the medium we move through every day – air – for granted. Not Laurie McLeod. A dancer, choreographer and teacher, McLeod has stepped away from traditional assumptions and is exploring the art of movement in another medium: water.
It makes sense, she says. After all, “Our bodies and our planet are mostly water. Working underwater is a supreme experience for me. It is the closest I can get to working without gravity. It offers near-flight experiences for both the dancers and the audience.â€
McLeod works in water both through choreography and film, as well as in her weekly water fitness classes at Eden Hill Recreation Center in Stockbridge. In 2001, she created the first of three underwater dance films, the award-winning “Yes, She Said,†a playful short film about a nervous bride who jumps into the deep end of a swimming pool to contemplate her imminent marriage. Featured in film and dance festivals around the world, it was directed, choreographed and danced by McLeod, with acclaimed dancer Paul Mattesman.
In 2002, she shot the underwater dance films “Teatro Otana†and Teatro Iva,†both also featuring Matteson. Now she’s setting her sights on larger scale performances involving water and dance. In her next project, “Waterhavens,†she’ll project short underwater films of dancers and performers onto fountains and bodies of water in public spaces, as well as in unusual museum spaces.
She is currently working with the Massachusetts Museum of Contemporary Art in North Adams to plan the debut of “Waterhaven I†at the museum in the summer of 2004. Further Waterhaven projects are planned for sites in New York, London, Seattle and San Francisco.
Choreographing in unexpected ways is nothing new for McLeod, a resident of the Berkshires off and on for over 20 years. In 1999, she became the first performing artist-in-residence at Mass MoCA, where she created an experimental work called “Twelve Incantations/Millennium Project.†The audience at the four sold-out performances laid down on the floor to watch while dancers and performers hung from cranes above them and danced, walked and worked on the walls around them. MacLeod and her company, Victory Girl Productions, later brought the production all the way to the North Pole, where they performed it before audiences of Russian and Norwegian miners.
“Twelve Incantations/Millennium Project†was, she said, “the simplest of theatrical magic; an antidote to the contemporary flood of computer-induced images in our world and a reminder that the best technology available is still our own imaginations."
She has also worked with young children, finding the work “heartening, hilarious, and a great sanity inducer,†and developed “Leap and Learn,†an innovative educational program used in South County schools that integrates dance into the teaching of core curriculum subjects. Children learned to dance their phone numbers and their math equations, for example, and to sail through the air as snowflakes to represent the snow cycle.
MacLeod said she’s not just interested in changing people’s beliefs about dance and learning, she’s also interested in overturning their assumptions about water-based exercise.
“What interests me about teaching in water is that water is inherently a poetic medium, and as such, there’s a lyricism to all movement that happens within it.â€
“There’s a perception that aqua-aerobics is only for senior citizens,†she noted. “But my classes are fun and appropriate for all ages. I believe music is an important motivating factor, and I create especially programmed tapes to delight, entertain and motivate students. Fabulous music puts the wind in people’s sails, and water evokes a real primal comfort with people.â€
Fran Steinert-Scharfenorth, Eden Hill’s director, said McLeod is “a total delight to work with and a strong supporter of community well-being, fitting right in with what Eden Hill is all about.â€
McLeod’s water fitness classes are offered twice a week at Eden Hill, Fridays from 5:30 to 6:15 p.m. and Saturdays from 9:15 to 10 a.m. Classes are $10 a session for non-members, and are free to all-inclusive or water fitness members. A 10-class pass is also available for $80. Steinert-Scharfenorth said anyone who brings in a copy of this Advocate article may attend one class free.
For more information about the classes, call the center at 298-1106. For further information about McLeod and Victory Girl Productions, visit www.victorygirl.com .
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Springfield Man Charged for Murder in Friday Night Pittsfield Stabbing
PITTSFIELD, Mass. — A Springfield man is being charged with murder in the stabbing death of a 36-year-old city man on Friday night.
Zyrus Jaynes, 24, was charged with one count of murder, and is expected to be arraigned in Central Berkshire District Court on Monday, June 1.
Police did not release the name of the stabbing victim.
According to a police report by Lt. John Soules, officers responded to a report of an assault at a residence on Hall Place at about 10 p.m. on Friday.
The found the Pittsfield man "suffering from a life-threatening stab wound." First responders treated him and transported him to Berkshire Medical Center, where the victim died of his injuries.
As a result of the ensuing police investigation, which included cooperation from a number of witnesses, a suspect was identified and arrested the following morning.
While a suspect has been arrested, police say the incident is still under investigation in conjunction with the Berkshire County District Attorney's Office. Anyone who wishes to provide information is asked to contact Detective James Losaw at 413-448-9700, Ext. 572. Information can also be provided anonymously by texting PITTIP and your message to TIP411 (847411.)
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