Students collaborate for IMS Festival

For all of those interested in cinema, dance, music, all three or none, the ImageMovementSound Festival of Rochester is something that will be definitely worth checking on out April 2 and 9. The festival is a collaboration of artists from the Eastman School of Music, Rochester Institute of Technology’s School of Film and Animation and SUNY Brockport’s Department of Dance that combines these different facets of the performing arts, allowing students from all schools to participate with each other. The festival is in its eighth year of delivering unique performances to the diverse audiences of the Rochester area. It began in March 1997 with Eastman and RIT presenting a combination of films and concerts in Kilbourn Hall. By October of the same year, it gained the partnership of the Department of Dance at SUNY Brockport for the formation of an annual festival. Several Eastman students from the undergraduate to graduate levels are participating in this year’s festival, utilizing their musical abilities to compose and perform scores for many of the projects. Students and faculty members from RIT’s School of Film and Animation incorporate their skills in computer animation and film, while the Department of Dance at SUNY Brockport contributes live dance. Acting in teams, the students create what the IMS’ Web site describes as “multimedia performances that explore inner-dimensional and interactive space in sound, imagery and staging.”For the most part, it is a unique opportunity for students of different artistic disciplines to work side-by-side on new and innovative projects. The collaborations that the students participate in with each other are much different from what would be experienced in most situations in that they are simultaneously creating a single project. In some instances, a dance artist may be inspired to create a work that goes along with a musical composition, or a music composer may write a score to a film. These projects also do not follow the normal restrictions of an artistic work. “IMS [Festival] is better for kicking back and producing a work that is aesthetically oriented,” junior Ethan Borshansky said, an Eastman composition student who is participating in his second IMS Festival. The festival intends to allow the collaborators in each project an equal amount of influence. However, working with individuals from two different schools can become a bit difficult. “It is sometimes more effective for one person to just be the head honcho,” Borshansky said. In previous years, an intercampus course was created between the schools that focused on helping students learn to collaborate on projects such as these. The work that the students have been able to complete, considering the absence of the course and their physical distance, is definitely an accomplishment for all the students involved. Borshansky is working together with students from RIT and SUNY Brockport on a project titled “Shadows.” The piece will include a backdrop showing previously recorded footage of dancers, while there is live choreography in front at the same time. Shadows of the live dancers are cast on the screen, creating an interesting relation between the animated video and the live dancers with Borshanksky’s music added to an exploration of “anatomical associations to sound,” according to the project’s statement. Borshansky says that the past two festivals have been fun for him and also mentions that his main goal has been to enjoy the experience of working on a piece that is not strictly musical.Other Eastman students participating in the festival include senior Abigail Aresty, graduate student Christopher D. Brakel, junior Jonathan Grabill, senior Sarah K. Ikerd and graduate student David Plylar.The festival performances will be held at the Hartwell Theatre on the SUNY Brockport campus on April 2 at 8 p.m. and the Little Theatre on East Ave. on April 9 at noon. There are a total of 35 artists from all three schools working together on 12 diverse projects. The admission price for either performance is $5 for the general public and free for students with ID. For more information, you can visit the festival’s Web site, http://www.imsrochester.org. Figueredo can be reached at ofigueredo@campustimes.org.