In front of a vivid mural in downtown Alton, Principia College dancers moved like waves of wind and wingbeats, in an effort to embody the flight and fragility of the endangered lesser yellowlegs.
The performance, choreographed by Associate Professor of Dance Erin Lane, was part of an ongoing collaboration among the National Audubon Society, the Audubon Center at Riverlands, and Principia College, designed to draw attention to endangered and migratory birds through art.
Lane began the choreographic process in August, shortly after the start of the fall semester. Unlike traditional rehearsals, her dancers met for 15 to 30-minute sessions. “I really wanted to give the dancers compositional tasks and improvisational scores,” she said. “They brought so much of who they are into it, it’s our work, not just mine.”
Before creating movement, the dancers began with research. The lesser yellowlegs, a small migratory shorebird that travels from South America to Canada, has seen its population drop by nearly 50 percent in the past decade. “It was important that we learned about its behaviour, its environment, and why it’s endangered,” Lane explained. “We wanted to embody not only the beauty of the bird but also its struggle and alarm.”
For sophomore Madeleine Waters, the process was unlike any other dance experience she’s had. “There was no music, no counts. It was very free-flowing, so you had to stay really in tune with the group,” she said.
The final section of the dance, where half of the performers slowly faded from view, represented the species’ alarming population decline. “It’s a little darker than some of the past Audubon dances. But bringing awareness means showing the truth,” Lane said.
Senior Jennifer Yeoman, who has performed in three Audubon projects, said this year’s performance felt especially meaningful. “We started by researching the bird’s mannerisms and then created movement inspired by that,” she said. “There was a flocking section, where the person in the back becomes the leader, that mimicked how birds move together.”
The mural, painted by Robert Fishbone, served as both backdrop and inspiration. Its bright colors and spiritual imagery mirrored the dancers’ gestures. Lane described it as a totem to the lesser yellowlegs, and it was “lifting up the spirit of the animal.”
The project, facilitated by Penny Schmidt from the Audubon Center, continues an annual tradition of uniting visual art, science, and the performing arts. For Lane, the collaboration is deeply personal.
