California (Pa.) University dance ensemble more than takes the stage to help Tarentum's HOPE Center

Apr. 24—The dance is about more than choreographed steps on a stage.

It's a performance created to encourage people to take action.

The Dance Ensemble from California University of Pennsylvania in Washington County creates dances that focus on the art of movement and advocacy for topics such as autism awareness, suicide prevention and mental health.

Their most recent dance shines a light on domestic violence.

"You can use your time on stage to just dance, or you can use that time to make the world a better place," said Diane Eperthener-Buffington of Coraopolis, who has been teaching dance at the university for 12 years in the Department of Cultural Media and Performance. She also taught psychology for eight years. "We dive into topics. These dancers are selfless. They want to make a difference."

Her philosophy is "Dance with a Purpose."

The moves are considered modern and contemporary. Dancers' facial expressions help tell a story. There are spoken parts as well as written words spelling out where people can reach out for help.

The 24-minute dance was released on Wednesday at a university event called Strike a Spark Research Conference.

It is available on YouTube.

This is National Crime Victims' Rights Week.

Eperthener-Buffington reached out to help the Alle-­Kiski Area HOPE Center in Tarentum, which serves victims of violence and abuse in northern Allegheny and Westmoreland counties as well as The Women's Center and Shelter of Greater Pittsburgh, domesticshelters.org and Domestic Violence Services of Southwestern Pennsylvania.

The dance ensemble and these organizations are invited to share the link to the dance on social media.

People can donate.

"I like the segment of social change they've built into the art of the dance ensemble," said Michelle Gibb, executive director of the HOPE Center.

In the video, each dancer is in a physically different space. They were separated because of the pandemic. The dance was completed virtually.

"Seeing them in difference spaces, and the fact that all of them were isolated, until they were all shown on the split screen, is very powerful," Gibb said. "Often victims are isolated in their own homes — a place most of us feel safe."

Gibb noted the juxtaposition of backgrounds from an empty garage or basement to a furnished living room and in front of a beautiful bow window. That illustrates that domestic violence can affect people in all walks of life.

"For social change to work, society has to change, " Gibb said. "This group of young people has a greater understanding of the root causes and underpinning of domestic violence. If you are not aware of a problem, you can't prevent it from happening."

Gibbs said having the performance available on YouTube extends its reach.

Dancers are freshmen through seniors. They are volunteers and commit six or more hours per week.

"I love that we are advocating for something that is such an important issue," said Rachel Wells, a senior psychology major from Brentwood. "We need to talk about these issues."

Wells, who started dancing at age 2, said Eperthener-­Buffington made it easy to learn, breaking down the steps.

"It's an experience I will remember for the rest of my life," Wells said. "As students, we go through the stress of exams and daily college life. Having been able to work with Diane on this dance really helped all of us during quarantine. I don't know what I would have done without it."

This issue is even more important now because of the past year of quarantine, Wells said.

"What Diane does has always had relevance, but it has more relevance today," Wells said. "Society needs to talk about these issues. If our dance helps just one person it will all be worth it."

Wells said there was definitely a learning curve at first with virtual instruction.

Eperthener-Buffington credits the center for undergraduate research's former director Gregg Gould, who is an associate professor of mathematics and physical sciences, with providing the dance ensemble with a home. Also instrumental in the project were Dean of Library Science Douglas Hoover, Secretary of Library Science Barbara Engle and Associate Professor of Social Work Azadeh Block.

She also said Michael Slavin, who is retired and was the former chair of the department of theatre and dance at the university believed in the project. Eperthener-­Buffington was inspired to start these dances because of her son, Colton.

At 18 months, he was diagnosed with autism. She wanted to give children a voice who are on the autism spectrum.

"We speak pretty deep about topics such as suicide awareness and what resources are available on campus," Eperthener-Buffington said. "We talk about addiction. And the deeper we get, the more emotional we may get. But we also talk about the light at the end of the tunnel. Depression, addiction and domestic violence are all on the rise, and more children are at home witnessing domestic violence."

JoAnne Klimovich Harrop is a Tribune-Review staff writer. You can contact JoAnne at 724-853-5062, jharrop@triblive.com or via Twitter .