Betty Salamun founded DanceCircus 40 years agoto fill a void in dance in Milwaukee. Her choreography is deeply concerned withnature and the environment. It’s the subject of her upcoming show Surface Tension, a five-part programinspired by the sheer beauty of water. SurfaceTension uses various media including painted sails by visual artist MelanieAriens that mimic the colors and waves of the Great Lakes, the surface tensionof vibrating instruments by composer Mark Mantel, and poems that allude to thehealing properties of water. Salamun spoke with Off the Cuff about the show andthe evolution of her work.
Would you talk about the metaphor of surface tension?
Surface tension is a scientific phenomenon.Still water has enough tension so that the molecules will be able to floatthings on the surface, little things like water bugs, feathers and seeds. Itactually gets more viscous the more pollution there is, so surface tension canalso support oil. It’s not just a metaphor for pristine water, but also forwhat else affects and causes surface tension. It’s about the beauty of thewater and what happens if we misuse it.
A lot of your work with DanceCircus has been interdisciplinary.Why?
When I started collaborating with other artists,it was with other choreographers. I found that I wanted another relationshipgoing on. I started moving towards “talk dance” where I would work with writersand poets, and I began writing my own stuff. Then I wanted costumes thatreflected stuff, so I started working with visual artists. Then I startedworking with composers, and I enjoyed that kind of interaction. Gradually Istarted working less and less with other choreographers, and more with artistsof other disciplines. It’s just been really fun to have other people andresources feed the process. It really transforms the choreography.
You’ve been choreographing since the 1970s. How has yourwork evolved?
Evolution is a natural progression for anyartist. I think what’s interesting is that the through-line of the environmenthas been so constant in my work. Some of my first works were based onenvironmental issues. It’s been this interchange of pushing the enveloperegarding what environment means and what art means, and bringing the twotogether. It’s been interesting to switch focus between the sheer beauty of theenvironment and the issues and the problems, asking people to think about that.It’s not just about the issues and the angst, but also about how our naturalenvironment inspires us, how it’s beautiful, how it refreshes us and how weneed it. Art does the same things.
Surface Tension will be performed at 7:30 p.m. on Saturday, April 12, and at 3:30 and7 p.m. on Sunday, April 13, at Danceworks Studio Theatre, 1661 N. Water St.Tickets are $15 general admission, $20 premium reserved and $10student/senior/artists. Call 414-277-8151 or visit dancecircus.org.
