The members of Company Unspoken will not only be dancing in their performance entitled “98 Seconds,” but will also be raising awareness about sexual assault, power-based violence and recovery.
The contemporary dance group was founded by Andre Williams ‘15 in 2014 and has since emphasized the belief that anyone can dance. Company Unspoken performs multiple times throughout the school year, each with underlying messages ranging anywhere from social to global political issues.
Company Unspoken believes their dancing can leave a lasting impact on Greencastle locals and DePauw students and faculty. Senior and president of Company Unspoken Emily Fox believes that “dance is a very powerful way to convey social issues because you can have a discussion about, you can read someone’s story, but dance is much more intimate because you’re using your body and it is like acting like you’re portraying a story.”
Many organizations on campus, including Green Dot, Code TEAL and the Women’s Center, jumped at the opportunity to create a story with Fox and the dance members to spread awareness of the violence an American experiences every 98 seconds, hence the title of the performance.
The Janet Prindle Institute for Ethics, too, eagerly accepted the opportunity to join Company Unspoken on their mission of informing the DePauw community on sexual assault. Junior Barbara Castellini, a Prindle intern, said that she got involved when Fox approached her and asked about a potential collaboration with Prindle because of the ethical theme of their performance. Castellini and Fox are hosting a panel lunch on Thursday at the DePauw Inn, focusing on the #MeToo movement.
The #MeToo movement continues denouncing sexual assault and harassment on various platforms of social media, the most prominent Twitter. The movement started gaining national attention when sexual allegations against Harvey Weinstein were broadcasted on televisions everywhere. The MeToo hashtag encourages women and men across twitter to share their experience with sexual assault. Castellini and Fox ultimately chose the #MeToo movement because of its immediate relevance and increasing prevalence on college campuses around the United States.
Green Dot also decided to join the pair because of the organization's focus on educating individuals on power-based violence. Junior and Green Dot intern of the student committee, Liam Byrnes, stated that Fox “believed that their performance should be informed by and supported by organizations that work in that area.”
Junior Ashley Beeson, who is also a member of Green Dot, too shares enthusiasm about the upcoming performance, especially its unique approach to raising awareness on sexual assault. “I think that the emotional communication that art enables people to express is a really beneficial way to begin conversations about important issues such as sexual assault,” said Beeson.
More than anything, Fox hopes to not only produce an incredibly powerful performance, but also “spark dialogue about these issues and I also wanted to bring together because I think there are a lot of organizations on campus that work on these issues, but they don’t always work together on them.”
Company Unspoken’s performances will take place on Dec. 9 and 10 at 7:30 pm in the GCPA’s Moore Theater.