DANCER RELAYS MESSAGE WITH MOVEMENT

CAPE GIRARDEAU -- Like it or not, how you move conveys a message about who you are, says dancer Dana Goodin Vanoni.

"You might as well make the message a good one," she told drama and music students at Cape Central High School Wednesday.

Vanoni, who grew up in Cape Girardeau, has lived and worked in Italy for the past four years.

She owns a dance studio, teaches dance and movement, and dances with her own company.

While visiting Cape Girardeau, Vanoni has been teaching students about movement.

Friday, she worked with students at May Greene Elementary School. "We did some warm-up and some jazz-funk dance," she said.

Sunday, she performed a liturgical dance at Grace United Methodist Church. Wednesday, she worked with theater and music students, and today she will be working with dance students at Central High.

"What they do with their bodies conveys as strong a message as what they might say on stage. They might be talented performers and musicians, but the wrong body language can cut their chances for success."

Vanoni taught the students, including football players and wrestlers, a more graceful, confident way to walk across the stage. She discussed posture and poise with the students and helped them stretch different muscles in their bodies.

"I'm trying to get them more comfortable with their body," Vanoni said. "Especially with this age group, they are not really relaxed with their bodies."

Vanoni, who works in Italy, hopes to bring her dance troupe to Cape Girardeau next year to work with students and perform.

"I've been talking with different people and getting some support to bring my company here," she said.

Vanoni said that by exposing more people to dance, especially different kinds of dance, she hopes the profession will become more accepted.

"Dance, and other forms of art, are as important as other kinds of work," she said. "Art needs to be accepted and integrated into the community.

"In Italy, my dance company does more than just dance. We do a lot of mime-dance theater," she said. "We also do a lot of collaborative pieces, like ballet with some spoken verse. We also combine music and dance and mime and theater.

"We do everything from classic ballet to ethnic dance," she continued. "It's a bit experimental, but I feel we are reaching more people."

She said dance that combines all these elements is not new.

"This was part of ancient Greek theater," she said. "We have just gotten away from this over the years."