Heginbotham initially drew inspiration from traditional Dartmouth songs, but he was ultimately inspired by Ellsworth Kelly's "Dartmouth Panels," currently affixed to the side of the Hopkins Center's Spaulding Auditorium, he said.
"The Kelly panels on the Hop randomly take colors and assign them to certain locations," Heginbotham said. "Like those panels, the dancers represent different squares of color that are assembled, dissembled or reassembled in different formations."
There are three different segments to the choreography the dancers begin in the Maffei Arts Plaza next to the Black Family Visual Arts Center, move to the Bedford Courtyard near the Hood Museum of Art and eventually end up at the Hopkins Center Plaza in front of the main arts building.
"Some people in the audience will know what is going on, some people will have no idea," Heginbotham said. "It could be a 30-second encounter of a piece that you follow for approximately 22 minutes."
The dancers perform in unison during the first and third segments, facing the audience. During the middle segment, however, the dancers all have their own set of movements and face many different directions.
The choreography resembles the arrangement of a Rubik's Cube, according to Heginbotham. It starts off a fully assembled entity and blows apart as the dancers move independently of one another. Whether they succeed in reassembling is a spoiler that the choreographer is unwilling to give away.
The all-female ensemble, composed of members from all four class years with varying degrees of experience, have been rehearsing each weekend since early September. The dancers will be accompanied by the Dartmouth Marching Band, which will perform diluted versions of popular contemporary hits.
"The musicians are performing music that you would hear at a football game, but because we are only using percussionists and not integrating the melodic portion of the music," Heginbotham said. "The songs will not be recognizable because we are only hearing a portion of it."
There are two reasons for the outdoor setting, Heginbotham said to utilize every possible outdoor space in the Arts District, and to convey the notion that the Hopkins Center is not only a tangible structure but one whose presence expands to the broader community of Dartmouth and Hanover.
"The outdoor space is both constricting and liberating," Heginbotham said. "It is clearly a much larger performance space than an enclosed theater."
With this performance, there are freeing spaces in which the dancers can use more space than required, but also limiting spaces such as the gravel pit near the VAC.
"There is a very unique style about the choreography due to the location," dancer Christine Averill '13 said. "We are celebrating the space we are in, and it is really exciting to watch my teammates in front of these spaces."
Heginbotham engages the dancers in a series of calf exercises in and out of technique class in order to prepare them for dancing on the various surfaces, according to dancer Kemi Mugo '15.
"Grass is actually easier for me to dance on," Mugo said. "Gravel, on the other hand, does limit our motion."
The expected challenge of translating a piece that has been rehearsed mainly in indoor studios to the outdoors turned out to be a rather smooth transition, according to Heginbotham.
"Although it was an adjustment, we were not insensitive to the task at hand, and the choreography and movement were flexible enough so that they could change and be customized for our particular stage," Heginbotham said. "In other words, we walked in prepared."
There is no overarching storyline to the choreography, but there are sections of the piece that the ensemble has given names to resemble miniature narratives. For instance, "The Enchanted Forest" is a segment in which the dancers appear to be lost and searching for something. Another is "The Harem," which features a "wiggly, belly-dancing vibe," Heginbotham said.
Throughout the performance, the dancers take an occasional break to lie down and watch what their fellow performers are doing, Heingbotham said. They are always either active or observing.
The dancers are "adventurous" and "willing to try new things," Heginbotham said. Due to the challenging nature of particular segments of the choreography, the dancers had to persevere through experimentation and rehearsal.
The auditions were fairly competitive, according to Heginbotham. Due to the limited amount of time he had to create the piece, Heginbotham devised the choreography so that he could work with a small group of people.
"I was really nervous the first rehearsal I didn't know them, and they didn't know me." Heginbotham said. "In fact, I didn't know everything about the piece yet, so the first rehearsal was all about trying out different ideas without expectations that any of those ideas would make it into the final product."
The dancers were asked to be theatrical and creative in their interpretations of the assignments that they were given, Heginbotham said. After a couple of days of being apart from the ensemble, Heginbotham decided to imbue the dance with constant high energy and have the count follow a quick tempo.
"The movement is quick, drawing from a quick pulse, as fast as a hummingbird's heartbeat," Heginbotham said.
The dancers are able to embody the erratic musical count, however, and make the "inorganic" movements aesthetically pleasing, according to Heginbotham.
"His choreography for this piece is quirky and idiosyncratic," Mugo said. "It is such a joy to perform this creation that I sometimes find myself doing the steps subconsciously."
Although the choreography is not physically demanding, the lack of repetition and execution require a great deal of stamina, according to Averill.
"That's the fun thing about choreography," Heginbotham said. "I go into the studio with an idea of what I want, but many decisions occur in the spur of the moment, as everything is happening live with the movement, and the creative impulse is happening with everyone in the studio together."
Heginbotham said he relies greatly on the dancers to recall certain movements and segments of choreography. They are taught different chunks of movement and are often expected to shift them around.
The entire dance is composed of three duets and one trio. The dancers are therefore either doing something in unison or simultaneously doing completely different things.
"Many of the movements are sharp and not flowy, or what you may call traditional modern dance," Averill said.
Heginbotham is knowledgeable and willing to help the dancers improve their technique, according to Mugo. He is aware of how he wants the audience to perceive the piece and the emotions he hopes to evoke in them.
"I hope people will think that this piece is interesting and provides a good medium through which to appreciate the physical space that has been added to campus," Averill said. "It's like art complementing art."
The free performance will be held at 3:15 p.m. on Oct. 13.
