Well Barjche is something different every year, although you can always count on exciting dance performance, wild costumes and great music. This year the Orchesis dancers, including students, faculty, and guest artists have created fifteen dances about the driving force of change. Breaking boundaries, breaking expectations, breaking tradition, all of these are explored through the powerful or confrontational or tender dances of Barjche '98. The concert opens with a ceremonial welcome by guest artist Dr. Karen B. Donaldson from ISU's own Curriculum and Instruction faculty. Dr. Donaldson brings traditional Caribbean movements and rhythms to Barjche with a dance that alternately undulates and pulsates across the stage.
Live drummers accompany the piece with traditional rhythmic patterns of the islands.
Paula McArthur, former Orchesis president and Anna R. Toman award winner, has returned this year from her own professional dance career to set a new work for Barjche '98. McArthur, who is also a professional visual artist, uses the stage as a sweeping canvas for bold kaleidoscopic visual designs. She breaks away from traditional definitions of form and balance, pushing the dancers sideways through space as though pursued by forces of nature. Faculty works also highlight the program. Gaze by artistic director Laurie Sanda, turns the role of the spectator inside out, challenging the traditional boundaries between audience and stage.