Call for Choreographers “Rules of Play”
Rules of Play – the 2025 Spring Dance Concert – seeks collaborators in the form of choreographers and makers who will create work to be shown in May. Students must be enrolled in DRA 146B in the Spring Quarter and will be required to commit to production meetings and rehearsals beyond the class period. Enrollment in DRA 146A in the Winter Quarter is highly encouraged.
To apply, students should email Doria Charlson (decharlson@ucdavis.edu) with a 400-500 word proposal of their project, including students’ conception or questions related to the theme. Students will also include a 100 word biography with their application, which should include their prior experience with choreography and/or composition by January 9, 2025.
The “rules of play” outline how, and in what ways, people engage with the structures and systems around us. At their best, rules provide a clear framework that equalizes the playing field through transparency and enough structure such that all players have the potential to win. Rules can effectively create order and calm, such that it is clear to all players what to expect. Too often, though, is it unclear how the game is played. Unspoken rules, conventions, biases, and forms of gatekeeping prevent and obstruct success for so many people. Rules of Play aims to explore how, and in what ways, people navigate through the game of life. Through dance and movement, collaborators are encouraged to creatively explore the systems around them and present work that helps audiences reflect upon what rules are of benefit to society and which may need to be revised or upended.
Proposals for choreography may include projects that engage with the following:
• Societal and cultural norms/expectations around concepts like “gender,” “race,” “success,” “health,” “wellness,” and/or “beauty.”
• Conventions and principles in science and mathematics (i.e., “laws of gravity”).
• Deep exploration of strategy, games, and patterns.
• Cross-genre dance-making and playing with stylistic conventions.
• Historical figures and/or events that have transgressed, confronted, and/or altered the rules.
• Creative multimedia engagement (i.e., use of unconventional music or media) alongside dance.
• Interdisciplinary projects that consider alternative ways of achieving structure/order/harmony.
*Note that all project proposals will be considered; this is but a guide.
Please note that preference will go to graduating students. Collaborators will be finalized in early Winter Quarter and all works are subject to approval by the department. Auditions for dancers and performers will take place in Winter Quarter.