“The Body Exposed” at SSC

A very unexpected performance was held at the O'Keefe Center at Salem State on Monday, April 5.

  During community time at the Salem State campus, dancing and theatre lovers alike filled the bleachers of the Multipurpose Gym to watch a dance performance they will probably never forget. "The Body Exposed" combined the politics of woman and nudity to hold a meaningful memory on the students who watched it.

Meghan McLyman, a dance professor at Salem State, invited Gina Kohler to perform. This was a great opportunity for Salem State dance students to learn from a different kind of performance.

Kohler is a choreographer, artist, and performer in Brooklyn, New York. She is a successful graduate of Kent State University with a degree in dance. She performs and teaches in New York and also internationally at popular dance events such as the American Dance Festival, the Brooklyn Dance Sampler, and even at venues in Vienna, Austria, and Nancy, France. "I was really excited to come," said Kohler. She was glad to have the opportunity share her talents and knowledge with dance students at Salem State.

"The Body Exposed" is a dance and a lecture by Kohler based on exposing the politics of woman's bodies. It is based on one-to-two years of research. Her hard work behind this performance was obvious upon seeing the number of journals, articles, books, and notes that lined the right side of the gym.

The back of the gym was covered with a giant black curtain.   Only a few feet from the bleachers the floor was lined with a white plastic sheet. In the middle of the black sheet was a square mirror surrounded by scattered glass jars of various shapes and sizes filled with a dark red substance resembling blood. Behind the sheet was a projector screen.
"Teach Me Tiger" by April Stevens was the first song in Kohler's performance. This song was first released in 1959 and caused an uproar because of its suggestive nature. The second song was by Tina Turner. The third song that Kohler used in her performance was "Like a Prayer" by Madonna. According to Kohler, there are "significant reasons for why I chose those songs." These songs were sung by women in history who broke the barriers of femininity.

Kohler was nude for most of the performance. She first sang to her reflection in the mirror that was then reflected onto a projector screen. This part of the performance symbolized the various reflections of women: how women see themselves, how others see them, and how the media portray them.

  Kohler then she stood like a statue. First of all, standing nude in front of an audience takes a lot of guts, but this part of the performance seemed very symbolic. She stood there as if she were saying, "this is who I am, deal with it."

Next, she sat on top of the mirror and poured beet juice, which looked like blood, on her finger, arm, back, and chest. And then skillfully slipped and slid on top of the beet juice-covered mirror.

When Kohler decided to do this type of performance she said the nudity "didn't come lightly." In fact, she said it took her about nine months to finally decide to perform nude. "Choosing to work with nudity is a very … specific choice," said Kohler, but according to her "there was no other way for me to do this piece."  Kohler believes that the nudity is necessary to get her point across to her audiences.

Kohler offered a performance filled with purpose and meaning. When asked if there was a story behind her performance she stated that her performance doesn't represent a story, but rather a statement.

If you would like to see great dance performances like this one, check out the events section of the Salem State website for upcoming performances.