Dance Revels in Different Steps
By Pia Murray

Peppy dance representatives hyped the crowd up in Warner Main Space on Friday afternoon for the year’s first studio dance concert. Members of the College’s dance community came to support their peers as they performed short pieces from their classes and individual projects.
The dance department holds three studio concerts per semester to provide a casual performance opportunity for student dancers.
First was a blues improv piece, performed by Brian Hogan, Satoko Kanahara and Abigail Wallace, that was originally done as a group project in which the students were asked to synthesize steps taught to them in class. The piece was entertaining and funny with a humorous storyline about two women fighting over a man. The group used swing steps like “the Charleston” and “Crazy Legs,” and sultry blues moves like the “Bump and Grind.”
The students of Improv I performed a tango piece in all black attire, complete with a red rose in each dancer’s mouth, while the more advanced students of Improv III played a large game of “Follow the Leader” to racy techno music.
At a more advanced level, the students of Choreography I experimented with choreography, changing the rhythms, styles and directions of the moves. It was interesting to see how different one piece could look when personal twists are added to it.
The performance drew in a moderate crowd, but most of the audience and all of the performers were dance students. The option to participate and observe is open to everyone in the College community, but either because of unawareness or disinterest very few students from outside the dance community choose to do so.
“It’d be nice if more people came and did stuff,” Loren Groenendaal, who is also a dance representative, said.
In the past, “And What?!” showed previews to advertise for their upcoming concerts and choreographers from Fall Forward and Spring Back used the opportunity for advertisement as well. The dance representatives extend their invitation to anyone who wants to perform: Ex-Cos, faculty, students, etc. But the non-dancers who do come to the shows are always supportive.
“The student body who does not dance appreciate dance a lot,” Ashley Smith, another dance representative said.
October 4
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