Olivia Euritt, Helen Gratch, and Madison Vomastek in their student video project, "My Body"

By Olivia Euritt

This semester, in our Introduction to Dance for the Camera: New Media and Editing (DANC 218) class with Professor Patrick Corbin, we were tasked with creating video projects in small groups, each formed by common interests and career goals. I was incredibly lucky to have worked in a group with two amazing, empowering, and independent young women, Helen and Madison. As a group of three, we decided that we wanted to use this opportunity to address a common issue in society that makes us feel less than who we are. As strong and independent women, we wanted to discuss catcalling through video and dance, and demonstrate its impact on women and their emotions.

Personally, we feel weak, misjudged, and severely uncomfortable when catcalled. We wanted something contrasting–powerful, because women are powerful, and deserve to be treated as such. As the film continued on, we moved into a lighter ending to showcase the empowerment women can feel in unity, and in embracing their value and beauty.

Our ideas for this video project continued to change day by day as ideas continued to flow. Collaborating and sharing ideas and thoughts was my favorite part about this experience, because of our passion in getting the message across to viewers. When you have individuals in your group who are just as passionate as you are, you are bound to create something worthwhile. Showing our project in class provided a positive atmosphere for support and discussion, and we were able to adjust according to our colleague’s feedback.

I look forward to working on this project more as we come into the final weeks of classes. Professor Corbin has been such an amazing professor and has guided us in the right direction during the making of this video. I am feeling very inspired to create work, and I think this film is the beginning of a very important and powerful message!