life - breath - soul
SARAH MCNAMEE
Dancer & Choreographer in Life
Logistics Coordination and Production Management
Sarah McNamee is a senior majoring in Dance Performance and Choreography and Exercise Science. From Charlotte, NC, she danced at Dance Productions and graduated from Northwest School of the Arts as a dance major. At Elon, she has performed in Dancing in the Landscape in 2017 and 2019, Echoes: the Spring Dance Concert in 2018, Chroma: the Spring Dance Concert in 2019, the Research Fellows show in 2019, and the Fall Dance Concert in 2019. She also spent a summer performing in Florence, Italy. Upon graduation, Sarah will be attending Emory University to receive her Doctorate in Physical Therapy.
A Note from the Artist:
The human body is first bones and muscles, but then also ligaments and tendons, and it is also a heart and a brain, and so much more. The categories that make up the human body are distinct and structured, while simultaneously emotive. The bones and muscles are functional, supportive, and necessary. Ligaments and tendons are about connectivity and are necessary. The heart and brain also serve functions vital to life but feel as though they are filled with passion and potential, which arguably is also vital to life. Every single body is different and every aspect of every body is different. Dance forms differ from each other by means of moving our bones and muscles in different arrangements and expressing our heart and brain in different manners.
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Rarely, was I able to exclusively focus on dance as most of my life has been spent focusing on science and academics. The few times growing up when I was able to solely focus on dance, I believe my artistic output suffered. I thrive in academic environments and produce interesting work when I can relate science with dance. A dancing body is determined by how the body is made and how the body works. I am inspired by thinking about the anatomical differences between dancers and how these differences inform their movement. How can dancers use the anatomy they were given and the heart and brain they have chosen to move through the space? How can they use the anatomy they were given and the passion they have created to influence an audience? Answering these questions are full of endless outcomes; this is where I would like my choreography to lie.