The Student Choreography Show and Friends is in full-swing, with participating students in rehearsals and faculty overseeing the student-run production.
Students have been in rehearsals since the beginning of the semester in preparation for the upcoming Student Choreography Show and Friends, which will open for one night and two performances. The show involves several choreographers, over one hundred performers and dozens of students in management positions, with the entire production overseen by faculty.
The process for the annual showcase begins nearly two years in advance, with the choreographers taking specialized classes beginning their sophomore spring semester to prepare their pieces for the showcase. Auditions for performers happen at the start of every fall semester, and rehearsals begin soon after. The students chosen for management positions are in charge of casting. Students of all majors are welcome to apply and audition, but only students taking the required courses are allowed to choreograph for the show.
Thomas Olson, dance performance senior and one of 18 choreographers, said there is a process to being eligible to create one of the pieces.
“You would need to take the first two prerequisites, which are choreography theory and choreography production. Then, after that, we go through a vetting process where we propose different ideas we would want to do, and they decide if they want to let us be a part of it or not,” Olson said.
Fifteen of the 18 choreographers this year are dance performance seniors, two are American dance teacher majors and one is a dance management major. Each is in the process of choreographing one piece. A total of 154 dancers from a variety of majors will perform in the showcase.
The “and Friends” part of the show’s title refers to two of the 20 routines being performed throughout the show. Both are song and dance pieces featuring guest artists. These numbers are overseen by Alana Martin, dance professor.
Faculty involvement is restrained and limited, said Morgan Wanamaker, dance management senior and assistant to technical advisor Susan Cosby.
“They are involved, but they don’t determine everything. They just guide the choreographers through the process,” she said. “They’re just there for a lending hand.”
Julie Russell Stanley and Tiffany van der Merwe, dance professors and co-directors of the showcase, said there are 11 total faculty members involved in the production, including themselves, Cosby, costumers, and various faculty members overseeing the choreography process and offering constructive advice. Their roles as co-directors are to help the choreographers fully articulate their vision and put their ideas onstage in a fully realized production.
“They get a lot of time and care from their professors to get the vision put on stage,” said van der Merwe.
Among the faculty working on the show, Cosby works as the technical advisor, keeping track of the logistical aspects of costumes, lights and scheduling. As the assistant to the technical director, Wanamaker said her position entails the handling of equipment for rehearsals and keeping the technical aspects of the show running smoothly. Including Wanamaker, the show has 46 student crew members.
Olson said it is an ultimate farewell for many of the dance performance majors involved in choreographing.
“It touches on a myriad of things that they learn throughout their time here,” said Stanley.
Wanamaker said she appreciates the opportunites the showcase provides.
“It’s really great to have this showcase, because we grow so much throughout our four years here, and allowing this showcase to happen allows us to see our potential and allows us to grow as artists, as managers and as choreographers in many different ways,” Wanamaker said.
Performances for the showcase are at 6:30 and 9 p.m. on Oct 11 in the Kirkpatrick Auditorium in Kirkpatrick Fine Arts Center. Tickets will be $8 either online or at the Performing Arts Ticket Office in the Edith Kinney Gaylord Center.
Photo Editor Clara Foster is a stage manager for the show. She was not involved in the writing of this story.
Leave a Reply