I don’t like many things that are popular. But almost two years ago, I listened to a college student who said “You should watch Stranger Things. I have a hunch.” I watched a few episodes and ended up clutching my heart with tears in my eyes. It gets at something I can’t explain, so I turn to choreography. My dancer Verity somehow “gets it” and neither of us can explain it, but we know it when we feel it. She’s done two solos now to original music composed for the show.
In the first, she represents a girl coming to terms with her own power.
In the second, we envision a new alternative future for Eleven in which she becomes a scientist.
In between the two, Verity met the actress who portrays Eleven. You’ll see the gesture that unifies these pictures.
In English 220, I encourage my students, when moved by something, to point to the values that they find in common with it. For us, it seems to be looking within to affect an external reality. Dreams do come true. And within us, we have the power to construct those dreams and invite them into existence. I love what I do.
The Power of Performance 