‘Catalyst Sessions’ recap: Andee Scott and Amanda Sieradzki
A four-block stretch of 1st Avenue South will come alive Saturday, as 35 dancers, observing proper social distancing, will perform a piece specially choreographed by Andee Scott and Amanda Sieradzki.
Visitors are invited to experience Reverberations one of two ways – by bicycle, as part of a “mobile audience” in the south-side-of-the-road bike lane, or on foot in the north side, moving sidewalk style. The 10-minute performance will repeat continuously between 11 a.m. and noon; the producers say there’s no real “start” time. You can ride and watch, or walk and watch, and if you so desire, loop back around and watch it again and again.
Saturday’s performance, between 27th and 23rd Streets, is the first in what’s to be a series called “Dance in the Time of Coronavirus.”
Scott and Sieradzki were Tuesday’s guests on The Catalyst Sessions.
Said Scott, a dance instructor at the University of South Florida: “I’d been thinking about this idea of trying to make a movement flip book for two or three years. I love the idea of amplification. I love the idea of echo. I love the idea of something that kind of ripples through space. So it definitely has the feel of almost like a moving meditation.
“Also, this is a moment in time when there is a lot to feel. So this, in many ways, is an homage. It is a memorial. It is a re-awakening. It is a meeting point.”
Scott is a longtime proponent and developer of dance as a public performance art; she created Our Town: A Moving Dance Tour of St. Pete in 2016, and Our Trail, a series of performances on the Pinellas Trail, the following year.
Sieradzki, adjunct professor of dance at the University of Tampa, discussed the challenges posed by having to teach physical movement online. “Dancers are so adaptable,” she explained. “It’s incredible what all dancers can do when faced with a challenge.
“All of my students rose to the challenge of being online. It was about exploring new platforms, so for my particular classes I relied heavily on Instagram. And I learned how to use Tik Tok, which was … interesting. I tried to incorporate different ways of moving together while still being apart.”
Today on The Catalyst Sessions: Tampa Repertory Theatre artistic director Emilia Sargent.
Streaming at 7 p.m. weekdays on the Catalyst Facebook page.
