Grinnellian Creates Interpretive Dance

Published:

May 15, 2024

A young man performs an interpretive dance while a choir performs.

Jadyn Al-Fatah ’27 performs the interpretive dance he created to accompany Caroline Shaw’s “To the Hands.”

During the Grinnell Singers’ week-long spring concert tour, Director John Rommereim had a vision — an interpretive dance that would enhance the choir’s performance of Caroline Shaw’s To the Hands and its beautiful choral harmonies.

To the Hands poses a question central to Americans: what do we make of the vision of radical hospitality expressed in Emma Lazarus’ poetry at the Statue of Liberty, which encourages us to offer relief to “those yearning to breathe free?” Rommereim felt these themes would lend themselves to interpretive dance.

Jadyn is a phenomenally gifted individual.

John Rommereim, director of the Grinnell Singers

He proposed the idea to Jadyn Al-Fatah ’27, who sings bass with the Grinnell Singers. Al-Fatah immediately began work. Over the weeks that followed, during an incredibly busy academic schedule, Al-Fatah created his dance.

“Jadyn is a phenomenally gifted individual,” Rommereim says.

“I had a lot of ideas already,” Al-Fatah says. “It came together pretty quickly.” Within a month, he had choreographed the dance.

“I just wanted to make sure that I got all the interpretations right,” he says. “And of course, the piece is called To the Hands, so I just wanted to make sure that I incorporated my hands as much as possible.”

A young dancer raises his hands to the sky while a choir sings behind him — **Jadyn Al-Fatah** performs with the Grinnell Singers.

Al-Fatah performed his dance with the Grinnell Singers in a recording made on May 9, which is available on YouTube.