“Fragments” is not your typical dance recital. Just like Dmitri Peskov, a part-time dance instructor at North Central College, is not your typical director and choreographer. The performers of this piece not only move to the music, they also sing and act. Peskov allows the performers to use their own talent, ability and even their mistakes to bring the show to life.
“My material is about the dancers and for this reason I don’t try to give much instruction. Instead I allow the material to come from them. They created most of it, they wrote most of the text, and the movement is their own,” said Peskov.
Although Peskov is very modest when it comes to his contribution towards the production, his performers truly appreciate his creativity, technique, advice and him as person. Laura Ebsworth, one of the performers, explains that Peskov has a “just do it” style and that both she and another performer, Josette Carpenter, feel as if they have learned valuable things from Peskov that influence their dancing as well as their everyday lives.
Commitment and drive is something that both Peskov and the five performers emphasize. They spend an average of 12 hours a week for rehearsal.
During these past few weeks of practice, Carpenter discovered that there is a fine line between acting and not making her performance into a total confession. She was aiming to come off as genuine in her performance and learned to hold true to some meaning and emotion from her dialogue so that it would not come off as artificial or forced.
For now, North Central’s dance department is small, but there is talk of expansion. Currently, dance is only offered as a minor, but in the future there are hopes for it becoming a major as well. Peskov explains that the idea of the performance is to showcase, “Hey! We have a dance program here and this is what we do. Come and watch it. And if you enjoy it, come take classes.”
Peskov, Carpenter and Ebsworth each took turns explaining how there is not a single, clear message for this performance. They all mention how there is a lot of interpretation involved.
“In some ways a lot of aspects were not created with a cohesive thought in mind, but putting it altogether, it ended up having a really strong meaning,” Ebsworth said.
She does add that this meaning, however, does differ from person to person, which Peskov explains depends on a person’s mood, energy and overall mindset. Ebsworth also explains that the show is not a performance for “aimless” entertainment. She believes that if you attend it will make you think. She distinctly identifies the show as, “life on a platter.”
If you plan to attend the performance tickets are priced at $3 and $5 and can be purchased at the Box Office 630-637-SHOW (7496) or online at northcentralcollege.edu/showtix. The performances start at 7:30 p.m. on Jan. 28, and run until Jan. 30, in Madden Theatre, located at 171 E. Chicago Ave.
