By: Ashton Newton
Entertainment Editor

Western students have been hard at work rehearsing for the 2017 Spring Dance Concert. Directed by Darryl Thomas, the Spring Dance Concert features 12 different dances from student and faculty choreographers, including a performance from Rainbow Dance Theatre and a guest piece from Tim Cowart.

Students have been rehearsing since January for multiple days a week for the performances, which will be May 11-13 at 7:30 p.m.

One student, Brooke Cross, sophomore elementary education major, recounted her experience preparing for Spring Dance Concert as a positive one.

“It was fun right away. I really enjoy learning choreography. Technique is good in dance classes, but I miss the whole learning a dance, performing it, having the lighting and costuming – everything like that is just really fun,” said Cross.

Cross is performing in two pieces, which has kept her swamped since the first auditions in January.

“I’m performing in a faculty piece done by Sharon Oberst. It’s a tap number and it’s done to three box songs. One is a minuet, one is a rondo and one is badinerie. We wear tuxedos and it’s very fun,” said Cross. “The other one, I’m in a student piece by Jordan Daniels called ‘The Place That Never Changes,’ she’s basing it off of a story about her grandparents house, a special place for her.”

The 12 dances each incorporate the different styles of the choreographers, and each dancer brings their own unique style to it as well. Coming from a dance team background, student dancer Jesse Johnson, first-year undeclared, expressed that working on these dances has been a much different experience than anything she’s done before.

“It’s not dance team, so staging and where your formation is doesn’t really matter necessarily,” said Johnson. “It’s not about the big overall movement, it’s about the little cool things that you get to do because you only have around eight people. Creatively you can do so much.”

The Spring Dance Concert auditions were open for any Western student, so the performance is filled with both dance students and students who just love to dance.

“It’s cool to see everyone from different dance backgrounds come and do a piece that a student choreographed. It’s really cool to be in something like this,” said Johnson.

Johnson is also performing in two dances, both of them student-choreographed.

“One of them is Caitlin Rose’s piece ‘Primordial Awakening.’ It’s kind of a druid dance. There are two main people and we fight until the end, until we come together. It’s powerful and really cool. It’s more ballet heavy, which isn’t my forte, but I really like the music, it’s very tribal,” recounted Johnson. “I’m also really excited for Brittany Hortert’s piece ‘Incognito.’ We’re pretty much running away from something the whole time. We wear sunglasses and a jacket, we look like spies the whole time. We get to play around with character and facial expressions, it’s just a lot of fun.”

Johnson also expressed her excitement for seeing some of the other dances in the Spring Dance Concert that will be performed alongside hers.

“There’s one piece that I’m particularly interested in watching called ‘Nasty Woman.’ It’s a solo piece and the way [Hayleyann Evers] has recorded some choreography ahead of time and will put that out as she dances to music is going to be one that I really want to see. It pertains to what’s going on right now and that’s really cool,” expressed Johnson.

Both Cross and Johnson are excited to put their hard work to the stage and to see the other dances that their fellow dancers have rehearsed.

“I’m excited to perform for the other students and the members of my family that are coming. I’m really proud of the dances that I’m in and I think they’re great,” said Cross.

The Spring Dance Concert will run from May 11-13, beginning at 7:30 p.m. each night in Rice Auditorium. Tickets are available now for $12, or $7 with a Western I.D.

Contact the author at journalentertainment@wou.edu