Experience a healing journey with the dance performance of “Psyche,” which explores the shared sense of isolation brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic.
Shayla Mellen, a senior at the University of Colorado in Colorado Springs, made the dance, inspired by her pandemic experience, where she felt “blocked from civilization.” Six performances will be held over the next two weekends at the Osborne Studio Theater.
“‘Psyche’ is pretty much all the emotions we’ve been going through during COVID — when times of isolation hit particularly hard,” Mellen said. “As the show goes on, they get closer and closer, and it’s almost like a healing touch.”
Refusing to connect with others was particularly difficult for Mellen, who also teaches dance at the Academy of Children.
UCCS senior Shayla Mellen performed the dance “Psyche,” inspired by her own experience with the pandemic.
“That was the biggest thing for me personally that we couldn’t touch each other, because as a dancer, that’s a big part of who we are as artists,” she said. “It was very, very hard to go through. So, I really wanted to represent those kinds of things throughout the show. “
The show has been in the making for a year, where Mellen proposed the idea to the performing arts department head last February.
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“He loved the idea,” she said. “He felt it was something we needed to talk about, because it changed our lives more than I think we realized.”
In the fall, Mellen began working with nine dancers in the show, with the goal of incorporating their dance experiences.
UCCS senior Shayla Mellen performed the dance “Psyche” inspired by her own experience with the pandemic.
“I had a big sit down with all the dancers, and we talked about our experiences,” she said. “We try to think about other things that other people have been through to try and connect with everyone more, and I think overall we’ve done a really good job.”
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Although the dance emphasizes the feeling of isolation, Mellen hopes that it brings people together.
“I hope the audience walks away accepting a little bit more of what we went through and really feeling the emotions,” he said.
“The COVID is still there. We’re still dealing with it. But I think it’s a good thing to know that we’re still moving on with our lives.”
