“Storytelling and Movement”: UT Dance and Film travel to Brazil
Utah Tech students had a great opportunity to conduct hands-on movement and film-based research in Brazil this summer through UT’s Dance and Digital Film study abroad!
This “Storytelling and Movement” course provided a unique opportunity for students to engage in film and dance practices in an international context through hands-on experiences. Utah Tech faculty from dance, Dr. JB Shilcutt, and from digital film, Jeremy Bolden led students on the study-abroad trip.
Students examined visual storytelling and movement in the course of their studies as they analyzed and participated in various movement forms; investigated culture’s role in shaping beliefs, practices, and perceptions; practiced problem solving and creation in a new context; and integrated technical components of dance, movement, and digital film through action and reflection. As part of the class, students engaged in experiential learning through active and applied practices through local movement classes and experiences, exploring and actualizing story collecting practices, and producing digital artifacts as a part of their course programming.
Opportunities like this study abroad experience afford real-time experience in conducting creative and scholarly research as well as foster encouragement of lifelong learning. Students engaged in purposeful discovery across borders, collaborative cultures, and connecting with global resources that will influence students’ time and studies here in Utah. One student summed up their gratitude as follows: ”I’m definitely most grateful on this trip for all the amazing people that I’ve gotten to meet and spend time with and hear their stories. You can never understand someone perfectly, but the thoughtfulness it takes for someone to share their story or a recipe or a food- a meal, their homes- just whatever they have to offer… all those little moments of human interaction, I just find so special getting to meet these people and spend time with them- hear their stories, their lives. Nothing can beat that.”
For the inaugural version of this trip, students from both the dance and film programs participated, yielding a beautiful exchange across the disciplines as everyone helped each other step out of their comfort zone in trying new things. Dancers operated camera equipment; film people danced. In addition to content sessions taught by Professors Bolden and Shilcutt across the three weeks, various local capoeira instructors helped the students learn about this Brazilian martial art with its movements, history, and music. Several forró teachers shared the basics of this Brazilian social dance so that students could put it into practice in a social setting with some of their new Brazilian friends. Students even got to hear stories from an artist from the northern part of the country who shared dance as a way of connecting to pottery practices in grounding oneself to the earth before working with the earth. As students began to acquire more Portuguese vocabulary, it was fun to see their excitement as they recognized words in a stretching class from a teacher they’d never met.
Students also connected artists of various media forms (e.g., ceramics, painting, dancers, musicians), refugees, families, entrepreneurs, people in local non-profits, and even a baker to share and exchange stories. They shared meals together, movement and art experiences, and even had the opportunity to be hosted in Brazilian homes for food and story exchanges. One such night, the students learned about the Brazilian chocolate dish brigadeiro and were able to gather around the kitchen table to roll the dessert into bite-sized balls. Giving back to the community, the students also offered a line dance class for the community during a holiday gathering.
For more information about future study-abroad trips with dance and digital film faculty reach out to jb.shilcutt@utahtech.edu or Jeremy.bolden@utahtech.edu.
Trip organizers Shillcut and Bolden look forward to continuing to expand on interdisciplinary and cross-cultural offerings like this for students to engage in storytelling and movement practices, and we look forward to continued collaborations across our programs on and off campus!
