K A T H A R I N E. G. P O W E R

The following feature story appeared in the campus publication MOSAIC in October, 1998.

CREATING RICH ART EXPERIENCES THROUGH THOUGHT AND FEELING

When Martha Graham replaced the vaulting leaps and pointed toes of classical ballet with the muscular and sensual movements that became known as modern dance, she did far more than electrify audiences with her technical artistry, according to Associate Professor of Theater and Dance Katharine (Kat) G. Power. More importantly, says Power, Graham inaugurated a new theatrical language whereby she could express her own experience of female embodiment.

"The theater world was until very recently dominated by men," Power explains. "Most of the playwrights are men, most of the directors are men, and most of the designers are men. Women's place has really been on the stage as interpreters of other people's authorship. So where else but in modern dance could women come in and simply take over and call all the shots? It's an open terrain."

Graham's revolutionary moves were indeed riveting, but understanding the theory behind them is equally significant, says Power of the choreographer and work that have been the subject of her research. "We experience art very viscerally and kinesthetically through our senses," Power contends. "But at the same time our mind is involved in the activity. I want my students to understand that the experience of art is bound up with the intellectual understanding of art and that they both serve one another. The combination of being at once a thinking and feeling human being is where the really rich art experiences come from."

Power clearly knows of what she speaks. A former dancer who has worked as both a choreographer and dance critic, she spent her high school years in London, where she was first exposed to and became enamored with the theater. After graduating from high school and performing in Europe with a semi-professional company, she returned to the United States, where she earned an undergraduate degree in theater education with a concentration in dance and a master's degree in fine arts in dance from Smith College. She joined Trinity's faculty in 1979 and teaches courses in performance theory, dance history, and women's studies.

Power's background, which integrates both theater and dance, mirrors the holistic approach employed by the department. And because Power applies that holistic approach within a liberal arts environment, students say their appreciation of theater and dance is deeper than if they were studying in a conservatory setting. Students in Power's "Women in Theater and Dance" course explore 20th-century women playwrights, choreographers, and performances in the context of theatrical expression and their relationship to gender.

Enabling students to delve into performing arts from such a critical perspective is also at the core of a new cross-disciplinary arts program in which Power is involved. Designed for a select group of first-year and second-year students who are interested in the arts, the program will combine the study and practice of art with an exploration of social, political, and cultural issues. It is scheduled to begin next fall. In two years, Power will be involved in another new pedagogical initiative at the College. Through the pilot "tutorial college" program, Power will be among a small group of faculty and selected sophomores who will explore fundamental liberal arts issues through one-on-one and small-group tutorials.

A consummate teacher

Power's colleague, Associate Professor of Theater Arthur B. Feinsod, with whom she co-teaches "Ancient World to the Englightenment: History of Theater and Dance to 1750," says, "Kat is a consummate teacher. She has very high standards for her students and is a rigorous writing teacher. She brings tremendous intelligence and wisdom to the disciplines of theater and dance. Her lectures are always clear, interesting, and challenging. Teaching with her has been one of my most treasured experiences as a professor at Trinity."

Students likewise echo Feinsod's praise of Power. Theater and dance major PaigeA. McGinley '99, who has taken the history of theater and dance course taught by Power, says, "Professor Power's broad academic interests and background in women's studies have an influence on her classes; she's not teaching in a vacuum." She goes on to say, "She's very good at teaching analysis. She has shown me that analysis can be just as rewarding as performance."

Theater and Dance major Michael E. Burke Jr. '00 says Power's course on "Romanticism to the Early Avant-Garde: History of Theater and Dance from 1750 to 1925" enhanced his appreciation of the contemporary theater, dance, and performance art he currently sees as a student enrolled in Trinity's La MaMa Performing Arts Program in New York. "I have a context in which to view things," he says. "Professor Power is very thorough and makes us work very hard, and we learn a lot." How does Power sum up the value of studying theater and dance and art in general? "To understand how one is processing, encountering, and receiving art is to understand one's self as well as to understand the world that has created that art. Art is just not divorced from the world that we live in. It comes out of that world and it shapes that world. To really investigate art is to investigate the world that you live in."

-- Suzanne Zack