Three former students of the University School of Music and Dance are carving a niche in the local dance scene.
Emily Joyce, Mandy Barba and Dorene Carroll, founders of JCB Dance Project, are presenting their first full-length performance this weekend at the Wildish Community Theatre.
Joyce, who studied dance at the University and Lane Community College, said the group has been planning the performance for eight months and has done everything from car washes to bake sales to raise funds.
“Since we’ve been out of school, we’ve been feeling like we still wanted to create and contribute to the community,” Joyce said. “We all love to dance and wanted to put our vision into the dance world.”
The show, Triangulation, is a modern dance production with a range of expression, from light and playful to contemplative and dark. The cast includes 25 dancers with varying experience that will perform dances such as an exploration on the personalities of cats and dogs and a homage to chores of women in Mexico.
Joyce said she remembers how happy she was to get auditions. “It’s great – I now have the capacity to offer new, aspiring dancers a chance to show their skills and gain experience,” she said.
Joyce started dancing eight years ago but said she has encountered an age stigma in the dance community. “It’s like you need to start dancing when you’re three years old, but I don’t think that’s true,” she said.
Joyce believes it is important to see art that is happening right now in the community. “There’s something about seeing art that’s self-produced. It’s where new things happen,” she said. “I mean, how many times can you see ‘The Nutcracker’?”
Triangulation is at the Wildish Community Theatre in Springfield at 8 p.m. on Friday and Saturday.
Joyce said students should attend because they will be able to see what graduates of the School of Music and Dance can contribute to the community.
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