Dancing into adventure

Sarah Carlson '94 dances during the 11th Daagbo Hounon Supreme Vodou Chief inauguration festivities.

Sarah Carlson '94 has always loved adventure and she likes to push boundaries.

She's enjoying plenty of both in Benin, West Africa, where she is studying Vodou ritual dance until June 2007 on a Fulbright grant. Go to web.mac.com/sarahjcarlson to view her web site, read her blog and drop her a note.

"I am fascinated by different perspectives on everything from politics, to agriculture, to the culinary arts to spirituality," Carlson writes. She danced professionally in New York and earned an MFA at the University of Washington after graduating from CC.

"Before dance was confined to aesthetic standards, the body simply moved and expressed volumes," she said in her Fulbright application. "I seek to rediscover the magic and spontaneity of dance in a realm where the body remains an inspired vessel."

Carlson wrote in her blog in early October, "Parfait has a thatched roof covered area in his yard that we gather beneath in the morning hours before the heat of the day sets in. The floor is covered with sand that provides a cool, soft base and we face the musicians to dance just as if we were conversing with the drums during a Vodou ceremony.

"Dance in Benin is centered around the spine which writhes like a snake and ripples out to the arms, pelvis and legs. ...We videoed class the other day and I was disappointed to see that even after studying Beninois dance for a while in the States, I look pretty pathetic next to Guillaume, our teacher. Parfait plays drums, watches and provides corrections periodically. ...Looking forward to seeing how things progress and how much thru practice and exposure will eventually seep into my blood."

Carlson sent the Office of Alumni Relations and her friends a note recently about the inauguration of the 11th Daago Hounon Vodou Supreme Chief on Nov. 4. "As you can imagine, the celebration was enormous and I took lots of cool photos," she wrote. "Hope life is good wherever this email finds you!"