Dance majors' work takes center stage beginning tonight

Senior dance majors will present the capstone of their UW careers at the annual Dance Majors Concert starting tonight.

[HTML_REMOVED]WHEN & WHERE[HTML_REMOVED]

[HTML_REMOVED]Tonight-Saturday

7:30 p.m.

Sunday

2 p.m.

[HTML_REMOVED]All performances are at Meany Studio Theatre

Students: $10

Faculty/staff: $12

General admission: $14

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This show features eight dances, seven of which were choreographed by undergraduate dance majors.

The student choreographers whose work will be featured are: Andrea Cowles, Kimberly Kaplan, Stephanie Ames, Rachel Randall, Alice Gosti, Katrine Behrend and Kia Fenlin.

A well-known New York-based choreographer, Jane Comfort, choreographed the final piece.

Although in total, each of the dances is only minutes long, the whole process for the show and creating the pieces began early last quarter.

In late September through early October, general auditions invited all UW students to try out for the show.

Those chosen were required to take at least one technique class this quarter.

The audition process was run completely by the choreographers.

"They gave us pieces of choreography to try, and also played music and told us to improvise so they could see how we moved," said Alexis Jensen, a dance minor who is in one of the dances.

Randall said she chose her dancers based on their potential.

"They seemed like they would be adaptable and creative with any dance movement I could teach them," she said.

After choosing dancers, the next step for choreographers was coming up with an actual dance.

Each choreographer had a different method for creating a piece.

Gosti said she worked closely with her dancers to come up with the movements.

"I would pass hours in the studio working on some movements or images that seemed to be able to carry my message," she said. "Then, the dancers came in and at first just learned the movements I gave them. Then I started asking them to elaborate with the concept in mind and through improvisation, we generated more movement."

For the next several months, the choreographers worked with their dancers and slowly brought the dances together.

Throughout the audition and creation processes, choreographers received little outside guidance.

Choreographers did have the opportunity to present their pieces to their peers, other dancers and some staff in a series of three shows earlier in the quarter.

Jurg Koch, the artistic director for the concert, said he was there to "try and help the artistic vision but not their stylistic preference."

"We provided a test audience to see if their concept and ideas were coming through," he said.

Most of the dances to be performed fall under the "modern dance" category.

Gosti described her dance as modern, but "close to the world of dance-theater."

Randall said her piece, entitled Living Shadows, "explores the ideas behind holding on to previous relationships even after they have come to an end."

After months of hard work and dedication, the choreographers and dancers will finally get to see their dances come to life.

There will be two awards presented after the concert finishes, one for outstanding choreography achievement and one honorable mention.

Molly Scott and Peggy Piacenza, two well-known dancers/choreographers, have been invited to judge.

For all seven of these choreographers, dance is a passion.

To them, being a dance major is more than just showing up and doing a little bit of dancing; it's a way of life.

As Randall said, "While other students may go drinking to have a good time or get high, all I have to do is go to a dance technique class."

Reach reporter Shannon O'Hara at news@thedaily.washington.edu.