'Like You Mean It'

Imagine walking on stage without knowing a single choreographed step. Frightening? Not for Visiting Associate Professor of Dance Adriana Durant.

Durant, with fellow dancers Noelle Chun and Annie Kloppenberg, uses improvisation as a choreographic tool and a method for training performers.

"Working with movement, sound and text, we construct a coherent piece in real time," Durant said. "We are crafting a completely new work in each performance, rehearsal or showing."

Audiences can observe the art in progress titled "Like You Mean It" at 6 p.m. Friday at the Shirley Wimmer Dance Theatre in Putnam Hall. Admission is free.

"Much like improvisation in jazz music, these compositions, though spontaneous, can be viewed just like finished choreography," Durant said.

Durant, who produces the shows, premiered "Like You Mean It" at Ohio State University in 2008. The trio has been performing together since 2007 and routinely performs and teaches workshops throughout Ohio.

"For 'Like You Mean It,' improvisational performance is choreography," Durant said. "It requires the same seriousness of purpose and regular rehearsing that yields engaging dance works."