Northern Lights
On December 6th 2018 Michigan legalized the use of Marijuana for adult use. Then on December 1st 2019 dispensaries started to sell recreational. Cannabis can be used for medical reason and now recreational reasons like making a dance work about it.
Meaning:
Northern Lights is a piece about cannabis and how it alters the mind of the user. Cannabis user depending on the strain can feel; euphoria, calm, relaxed, happy, energetic or pain relief. I tried to embody the effects and what it is like to feel them in this piece. The piece is meant to be fun and light hearted while at the same time making the audience question it. I wanted to abstract some of the actions and typical things items involved in the process of consuming cannabis.
***Disclamer. I in no way shape or form promote the use of cannabis. This was strictly for choreography purposes only.***
Meet The Cast
Jon Bargas
"Thanks Paul for letting me be in your piece, he brought something different to the dance world, we were nervous at first but in the end I think it would work out. Fun experience, Enjoy the Trip."
Molly Cardella
"I was really excited about Paul's work because of his depths he took the themes. I was one of the most fun senior projects I danced in and I'm so happy I got to dance this for my first Senior Project experience."
Thérése Noch
"Paul's piece was exciting and challenged the way I usually would move. The topic of his piece was something I have not seen a choreographer explore before."
Leda Stimac
"Northern Lights was just that. You felt the inhale and the exhale and the emotions that followed: a sense of lightness, freedom and tiny bit of insanity. It was relatable, honest, and fun and the dancers all embodied these senses by the inspiration of the choreographer."
Costumes
Idea and reason behind my canna-costumes
I wanted to have the color green be a representation to the color of cannabis. Various shades to give an illusion of the bud and structure. Subtle hints or orange would be used to show stigma which is the hairs on the cannabis buds. Dancers are also welcome to wear shiny ear rings for representation of the trichomes. By using tie dye the costumes are able to embody the look of cannabis without be to straight forward.
Note: the costumes pictured are just the ideas I had for the piece, they are not the actual costumes themselves.
