Student uses street dance to explore the intricacy of movement

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. — Brendan Behan thinks of his new dance as similar to an Afghan rug. The unique rhythms and arrangements of arms, hands, torso and head in the dance are like the intricate images in the rug. Those details don’t offer a sense of the structure of the dance, or the rug, until you step back and view it as a whole.

Behan will perform his solo dance, “Box Cake,” at StudioDance II, a performance of new works of University of Illinois graduate and undergraduate dance students. StudioDance II is at 7 and 9 p.m. April 21-23 at the Studio Theatre at Krannert Center for the Performing Arts.

Behan, a third-year MFA student in dance, wanted to explore the intricacy of movement in his work. He has a background in hip-hop and house, so he used movements and choreographic styles from those types of dance. He’s been developing “Box Cake” over the past year.

“It’s very much about the kind of exactness and use of space (as hip-hop), with asymmetrical angles and an off-center aesthetic,” Behan said.

In one part of the work, he uses a quilt made by his mother like a break dancer might use a piece of cardboard on a street corner.

Behan also created the music for his dance, using ambient sounds he recorded with his phone and then heavily processing them.

“It sounds like it’s coming from a different universe,” but there are small rhythms within the ambient sounds, he said.

Behan’s performance at StudioDance II will be a continuation of his research on how to express himself through movement, rather than a presentation of a final project. The piece will continue to develop and could even change from one performance to another, he said.

“I love that dance is so expressive without being verbal,” Behan said. “I’m excited to take all that into ‘Box Cake’ and put it out there for people.”

Editor’s note: More information on StudioDance II is available online.