Leaves mark the season for the December 2011 Fall For Dance, the first of two dance concerts displaying the dance and choreography talents of CMU students.
The dancers will take the stage of the Black Box Theatre of MOSS Performing Arts Center on Dec. 9 at 7:30 p.m. and Dec. 10 at 2 p.m. and 7:30 p.m. Tickets are currently on sale at the box office. Tickets are $12 for adults, $10 for staff and faculty, $8 for seniors and $6 for students.
Melonie Murray, Mesa Dance Professor and Show Director, has hands tied with a show including almost 40 student dancers and guest choreography in Ballet, Contemporary and Jazz.
Guest Choreographer Rick Rose is one of several among students and guests contributing to the performance.
“The only bad dance is one people do not understand,” Murray said, quoting famous choreographer Twyla Tharp.
All dance majors are required to either audition for the performance or assist the production in any way. Performers earn credit by meeting a GPA requirement of 2.6 for performers and slightly higher for choreography. This policy began this fall.
Dancers include choreographer and dance major Taylor Young, Laura Stroman, and a group of other CMU dancers, some performing multiple pieces.
Each of the Student Choreographers prepared one piece. A piece choreographed by Stroman titled “Feel the Heat” is a fast paced, upbeat Jazz dance decked out with jumps, turns, and shimmies.
“I am trying to communicate the joy dancers feel when they are dancing because its so much fun for them that they just want to share it with the audience,” Stroman said.
Taylor Young was originally a dancer whose hard work resulted in a stress fracture but left her persevering with a choreographed piece of her own, called “No One on the Corner has Swagger Like Us.” Young describes the Tap and Hip Hop piece as a scene set in 2062 in which four old ladies take the streets during a reunion upon graduation.
“We are all older and have unique personalities but we are coming back to dance,” Young said.
Feeding the show is the Beyond Boundaries Dance Collective with Rebecca Fleishman, a member of the Artistic Committee. It is Headed by Ann Sanders, Joy Rayside, Liz Vrettos, Anali Cunningham, Julie Sinnott and Laura Bradley. The Collective is committed to keeping aspiring young dancers funded and trained. The collective generates over a thousand dollars a year for donation to the campus dance program and hosts concerts in February and July.
Using recited poetry written by Jewel, Fleishman brings a contemporary modern piece, “I Am Here Waiting For Your Call.” It is a dance which she says was inspired by the anticipation of a call from her husband.
More can be learned about the collective at www.beyondboundariesdance.com about additional concerts and campus feeds.