The admonishing voice belongs to Goucher professor of dance, Chrystelle Bond, the group's artistic director and founder. All have been reconstructed by Bond, assistant artistic director Jayme Klinger-Host and Goucher students. According to Bond, the ensemble began at the insistence of two Goucher dance history and criticism majors eager to reconstruct dances from the 19th century. After the women's graduations following the 1988 debut, Bond thought the group would die. The next thing you knew we were doing the whole historic circuit.
Scholarship can be in the reconstruction process or manifested in choreography.
Not only does scholarly work manifest itself in different ways, but students understand history on a more personal level. But, when you put on the corset and find you can't lift your arms, you have a different understanding of how dance has evolved and why. Social dance provides a glimpse into so many different aspects of history. There wasn't an age factor, a body type factor. That's part of dance as part of the humanities, not just dance as an art form.