Hobart and William Smith Colleges

1 August 2023 Dancing Through Summer Research

As the HWS Dance Department prepared to host two summer conferences, students worked alongside Professor of Dance Cynthia Williams to organize the sessions while researching somatic theory and practice.

This summer, Hobart and William Smith Colleges’ Dance Department hosted the 35th annual Body Mind Centering Association conference (BMCA) and the Somatic Dance Conference and Performance Festival (SDCPF). As research fellows, Jillian VanLare ’26 and Emma Yeager ’24 worked with Professor of Dance Cynthia Williams on a project, “Dance: Arts Management and Conference Production Focusing on Somatic Movement Education,” that saw them coordinate the conferences and develop new insights about dance and movement.

“Watching all of our planning come to life is a very rewarding part of this process. It has taken a lot of energy and patience to organize the conferences, so being able to successfully host and execute them is a good feeling.” Emma Yeager '24

For VanLare, who intends to declare a philosophy major and dance minor, the most satisfying part of the project has been “all of the new connections I have made so far this summer” — both academically and professionally. “It has led to a lot of wonderful and colorful conversations, including ones rooted in academia, which have helped me to find direction for my independent research,” she says.

Yeager, a dance major and biology and health professions double minor, says that “watching all of our planning come to life is a very rewarding part of this process. It has taken a lot of energy and patience to organize the conferences, so being able to successfully host and execute them is a good feeling.”

After months of preparation, nearly 200 participants convened on campus and online for the BMCA conference in June. Williams presented a session, “Tropes and Slippery Slopes: The Language of Embodiment,” and with VanLare and Yeager, managed the event around the clock. They helped participants with housing reservations, technology of each space during sessions and technical production for the dance concert, with support from Technical Director and Light Designer Mark Wenderlich.

Just over a week later, the SDCPF began in the Gearan Center for the Performing Arts, where participants gathered for 19 presentations and panels on somatic movement, as well as performances that included works from 10 choreographers. The conference featured presentations from associate professors Michelle Iklé (“Connecting with Others: Shin Somatics® Narratives”) and Kelly Johnson (“Working WITHIN Our Bodies: Learning Through Injury and Recovery”) and Alexandra Bilodeau ’20 (“The Movie Musical and Jazz Dance: Connections to Nostalgia in the 21st Century”), who also performed. The conference’s performances included “The Offering,” a quartet featuring Hannah Bixby ’23, Mary Dinan ’15, Bryna Gage ’22 and Julia McCormack ’23, and “Still Lives Here,” co-choreographed and performed with Caitlin Mahon, former adjunct Dance faculty. Olive Prince ’99, a recent guest faculty choreographer, offered "Subsidence," an ensemble piece for six dancers from Drexel University.

Yeager, who served as tech coordinator for the project, says, “The conference was an opportunity for somatic educators and movers to come together and learn from and with each other in collaboration to further discover the interconnectedness of Somatics and its community,” says Yeager. “Through sessions, performances and conversations, participants engaged with each other in an exchange of ideas and experiences, while at the same time gaining new experience.”

Overall, VanLare says, the project “is unique in that there are almost two separate components of it. There is the day-to-day focused in the process that includes managing, running and hosting of dance conferences,” while her research examines “somatic experiences through movement [looking] for ties to spirituality.” By observing somatic work, she has developed deeper “knowledge on how their somatic experiences have affected them personally. This has set me on a path with my research where I am developing holistic practices to determine the validity of my research.”

Funding for the project was provided through the HWS Student Scholarly Experiences program, which supports students conducting a scholarly or creative project under the supervision of a faculty or staff member during the summer. 

“I am grateful for the support of the Office of Academic and Faculty Affairs with the two summer research fellows — it's a tremendous undertaking to host an international conference like BMCA, and to follow nine days later with the 9th annual SDCPF (with a four-day holiday weekend in between) was challenging,” says Williams. “I’m grateful for my colleagues in Dance and Theatre who shared their spaces, and for the many people on campus who are essential in creating a welcoming environment for guests."

On campus, VanLare is a student worker for the Dance Department, Dean’s Office and the Office of Admissions. She is a tutor for America Reads and a member of the Kinetic Dance Collective and Club Volleyball. This fall, she will serve as the Spirit and Social Media Orientation Leader. Yeager is co-president of Kinetic Dance Collective for the 2023-24 academic year, as well as a member of Mindfulness Club. She will serve as an Orientation Mentor this fall.

Learn more about summer research at HWS.

Pictured above, Emma Yeager ’24, Jillian VanLare '26 and Professor of Dance Cynthia Williams pose for a photo in the atrium of the Gearan Center for the Performing Arts.