With a talent group of nine dance majors coordinating the lights, music, publicity and program, as well as choreographing their own pieces, this year’s Spring Student Dance Concert is putting the emphasis on student production.
“We don’t have the opportunity to have our work produced in a show like this very often,” graduate student and dance major Erinn Ernst said. @@http://directory.uoregon.edu/telecom/directory.jsp?p=findpeople%2Ffind_results&m=student&d=person&b=name&s=Erinn+Ernst@@
Every year, the dance department’s showcases some of the department’s biggest talent, not just from the dancers onstage, but also from the students coordinating the show backstage. @@http://tickets.uoregon.edu/event/6375@@
Through a two-term dance class, the students have been preparing to showcase their work in the spring show since they first held auditions last January.
With a small budget and a lot of work, these students must choreograph one piece each and are also in charge of the production.
Up until this class, each of the dance majors has taken classes on topics such as composition and production. For many of them, this is the first time they get to showcase their work and skills.
Faculty coordinator Brad Garner said the spring dance show is the perfect opportunity for students to bridge academics with a real world approach. @@http://directory.uoregon.edu/telecom/directory.jsp?p=findpeople%2Ffind_results&m=staff&d=person&b=name&s=Brad+Garner@@
Each student must buy or make their own costumes, design their own lighting and sometimes even work with music majors to compose their own music.
Though each student takes many of the same classes, the event showcases extremely different work from each of these students.
“What fascinates me is that these people through the dance department have pretty much the same training, but the work is completely diverse,” Garner said.
The result is nine pieces spread out over two acts, showcasing each student’s different choreography and production. The dance genres vary from modern to jazz fusion and minimalist.
The process of choreographing and creating their pieces, the students said, is a collaborative experience.
“A lot of our dancers too have helped in the choreographing process,” undergraduate Katherine Davenport said. “We don’t make all the movement ourselves;they put in a lot of effort for that.” @@http://directory.uoregon.edu/telecom/directory.jsp?p=findpeople%2Ffind_results&m=student&d=person&b=name&s=Katherine+Davenport@@
Amy Ward, University dance graduate student, said that one of her favorite aspects of performance art is that it is constantly recreating itself through what she calls the little nuances in her dances. @@http://directory.uoregon.edu/telecom/directory.jsp?p=findpeople%2Ffind_results&m=student&d=person&b=name&s=amy+ward@@
After many weeks of hard work, each student can agree that seeing the final production is fulfilling.
“Seeing this almost end product … it’s been really cool to see how it’s grown and blossomed,” undergraduate Emily Baumann said. @@http://directory.uoregon.edu/telecom/directory.jsp?p=findpeople%2Ffind_results&m=student&d=person&b=name&s=Emily+Baumann@@
The Spring Student Dance Concert starts Thursday, May 12, at 8 p.m. in the Dougherty Dance Theatre and runs through Saturday. Tickets are $5 for students and seniors and $10 for general admission.