AMBER MATTICE
Assistant Reverb Editor
On March 12, in the dance studio in Dods Hall, Orchesis will be presenting its 2016 Spring performance.
This year’s performance will be particularly interesting, as it will feature eight different pieces choreographed by students as well as an intermission during which other clubs on campus, such as The Irish Dance Team, The Riveters and Envied Xpression, will perform.
The theme for this year’s performance is “Back To Our Roots,” and every piece showcased during the event will have choreography inspired by this idea.
“It’s very fitting since the show will be held in the dance studio where we hold auditions for each show. For the graduating seniors it’s a notion of ending where they started,” said Jennifer Urda, a sophomore early childhood education major. “For me, as a first time choreographer, I had to pull a lot from my ‘roots’ — the styles I was trained in and the idea behind my piece.”
Every choreographer has different associations with the theme so every piece will be very different, yet still dance around the idea of going back to the place where everything started.
Chelsi Campbell, a senior theater major and co-choreographer, stated that her piece is about overcoming physical and emotional abuse.
“It tells the story of a girl who gets pushed around and bullied, until one day she overcomes it and befriends the bully,” Campbell said. Two of the dancers will be in red dresses, while one will be in black, allowing her to stand out. “The story unravels throughout the dance, as the one bully stands up and goes against the other, causing drama between the three.”
Conversely Sam Dry, a senior psychology major who did not reveal exactly what her piece would be about, said that the costumes for her piece were “white and energetic.” Dry also stated that, “There is so much talent. It is going to be a great show and we are all very excited.”
The differences between each piece are set to make for an interesting event and every choreographer, co-choreographer and dancer is working extremely hard to make every performance perfect.
“My goal as a choreographer was to leave an impact on our audience,” Urda said. “I’ve worked really hard with my dancers on drawing out emotions to portray the idea behind my piece. I want it to connect everyone, dancers and audience alike, to a time in their life and provide an inspiration that you can overcome everything that is handed to you.”
Diversity will also be found in the music. The genres vary from jazz and hip-hop to tap and lyrical. The sheer amount of variety that will be displayed in the actual pieces and the performances during intermission will make for a beautiful and intriguing event.
“I’m a huge pop punk fan, and I somehow always end up choreographing tap to punk songs, but this piece has a really fun and interesting twist to it that I think the audience is going to really enjoy,” said junior dance and radio/audio production double major Christopher Victor. “I also tried to incorporate some aspects of Irish step dance into this piece, since I originally began dance as an Irish dancer.”
Seats for the event are limited, however, and tickets for the event are $4 for students and $8 for general admission.