The Emerging Choreographers Showcase held its final performance on Saturday in the English Building theater. Throughout the week, dances packed with powerful messages were delivered with grace, energy and technique.
The first dance — “The Chorus of Change,” choreographed by Avril Sharp — shared a journey from silence to strength as the dancers crafted formations of unity on stage.
“We Shall Have Spring Again,” choreographed by Cathryn Jacks, was a beautiful piece of transformation — from winter to spring and grief to renewal. This ballet contemporary dance exhibited elegance and poise as the dancers traveled through different emotions. McKenna Booker, who seemed to be the lead during parts of the dance, especially conveyed expressions of resilience and joy.
The energy picked up in the third dance of the night with Trinity Williams’ piece “Vanishing Act,” which was a duet between Alyssa Potter and Macy Wright. The dance was a story of two characters: the fantasy, who embodies perfection, and the real person, who is obsessed with the fantasy.
“They end up forming this friendship with this fantasy, and it’s translated into real life for this person,” Williams said. “So the meaning of it being called ‘Vanishing Act’ is towards the end of the piece, the fantasy person vanishes, symbolizing that this fantasy wasn’t real at all.”
Potter and Wright’s jazz and hip-hop style captured the attention of audience members from the front row to the very back of the theater.
The fourth dance, choreographed by Delaney Jack, was “Unbound,” a contemporary dance inspired by 2 Corinthians 3:17 and 4:17, which are about the spirit of freedom and God’s mercy.
With the beautiful outfits and lovely movements from the dancers, Jack’s message of finding peace truly became clear and recognizable.
“BOX,” choreographed by Isabella Hanson, changed the momentum of the showcase again with a speech delivered by Mya Day that compelled the audience to focus on her and nothing else.
The story of conforming to expectations yet wanting to be an individual was masterfully done in the ending moments of the dancers. Hanson’s decision to have the dancers end the piece by trying to get off the stage in a “breaking out of the box” way had people in silence, possibly reflecting on their own want to be different.
The musical theatre number, “TAG,” was choreographed by Katelyn Midgett. Taking place at a speakeasy, the six dancers took on different roles in a deadly game. Adorned with different colored masks and corsets, the dancers portrayed their characters skillfully and with a dedication that made each emotion and action believable.
Anna Lindsey’s “Systems of Contradiction” was a contemporary pointe dance that showed off the strength and stamina of the dancers. The story was about how the mind is capable of creating art and handling complex emotions. The different formations and flow of the dance created a connection between the dancers and the audience.
“Hills and Valleys,” choreographed by Presley Bauer, was about the different perspectives on life.
“The whole concept of the piece is going through different seasons of life theoretically and how the mind has the power to overcome difficulties in life and find joy on the other side of obstacles and hardships,” Bauer said.
The seven dancers crafted an atmosphere of alluring beauty on stage that emphasized Bauer’s message.
The trio of the night, “Aggregate Limit,” was choreographed by Liesl Speal.
Speal’s story of how relationships change over time was inspired by Southern Gothic literature, which made the piece feel like a movie. Her dancers’ storytelling ability made the dance feel elevated and professional as they used every emotion to convey different meanings.
“The Heart,” put together by Colby Johnson, showcased the different highs and lows a person can experience throughout their lifetime. The intensity of the dancers provided an appreciation for dance all together as members in the audience were able to watch the love of dance flow between each person.
Gwynevere Deterding choreographed “At a Crossroads,” which was a story of one dancer being pulled into different possibilities.
The dancers had an inseparable relationship with each other that was admirable, and their technical movements were quite impressive.
The last dance of the night — “Form Fitting,” choreographed by Braxton Kent — explored gender roles in an energetic and magnetizing way.
“My dance navigates the restrictive gender roles that are within the LGBTQ community,” Kent said. “You feel this expectation to fit into these two forms masculinity and femininity. But there’s not any space to challenge or blend those two gender norms.”
The costumes and props used for the piece allowed his message to come across clearly in an artistic way. Melody Kent was a standout in this dance as someone who blended charisma and talent together.
“A picture is 1,000 words, but dance is, in that case, a million,” Kent said. “It’s just so real, and it helps create something that’s in your head become something that you can see and you can feel, you can relate to.”
