Presenter: McKelynn Barber, College of the Arts, Dance
Authors: McKelynn Barber
Faculty Advisor: Elizabeth Stich, College of the Arts, Dance
Institution: Dixie State University
A global pandemic, the addressing of racial tensions within the United States and my fast approaching graduation have served as catalysts for understanding who I am as an individual. As I have gained more knowledge in the aforementioned areas, I have found myself formulating more questions than answers. During the creation of this work, I equated the loss of understanding who I am as I gain more clarity of the world around me to a pebble in a pond. Prior to the pebble being dropped in the water, there is a sense of stillness. One can see their reflection clearly as the water stands still admiring the soft edges within the reflection. For a brief moment, images become distorted as a pebble is dropped into the water shifting the once admired soft image into something unrecognizable. With time the water becomes still once more serving as a more accurate representation of what it is reflecting. This process of stillness and disruption served as the stimuli for this work. "To Be" examines the exchange between clarity and confusion as we navigate and process newfound information and apply it to how we conduct ourselves in the world as well as how we develop who we are internally.