The first-ever Emerging Choreographers’ Showcase is a group of artistic projects choreographed by students. The concert will showcase twelve original dance works choreographed and performed by students. Choreographers have explored all avenues of dance production through collaboration with designers, stage managers, and arts administrators. Through this process, they have developed their artistic voice and are excited to present their works on the stage. Kyler Durrence, Savannah Golden, and Morgan Holder shared a little bit about their artistic processes.
Kyler Durrence’s work Behind the Glove is a contemporary fusion dance that blends contemporary dance with the styles of jazz, ballroom, and hip hop. Durrence developed his concept based on his personal dance journey inspired by the legendary Michael Jackson. In this work, Durrence draws from MJ’s life story and his personal experiences to depict how dance can connect two individuals from different times. Through the staging, costuming, props, music, and choreography, he hopes to present an impactful performance that draws audiences into this story.
Inspired by the emergence of butterflies from their chrysalises, Released is a contemporary pointe piece choreographed by Savannah Golden, a senior Dance major with a minor in General Business. This piece explores journeys of growth and development through the imagery of butterflies. For Golden, her piece originated from a deeply personal place. “My concept started with my own personal development over the past four years and how, last semester, I really started feeling the need to walk in all of the ways that I’ve grown,” Golden said, “My original idea was that when you break free of something there would be a lot of force and intensity behind the release, but actually butterflies sit very still for quite some time [before they fly]”. With contrasting elements, intricate structures, and sharp footwork, Released is a poignant reminder that personal growth is a complex and nuanced experience that may even require you to, at times, simply sit still.
Morgan Holder’s This Inconstant Stay is a contemporary work that explores the concept of time overlayed on Shakespeare’s Sonnet 15 and its respective literary structure. Her interdisciplinary investigation led to the centralization of the concept—the human struggle against control of physical time and its effects. Despite this struggle, she finds resolution in the idea that through art and poetry, we can stop the movement of time. Holder describes her piece as “rhythmic” with the dance moving to a beat of its own.
The Emerging Choreographers’ Showcase runs from April 2 – 4 at 7:30 pm, April 5 at 5:30 pm, and April 6 at 2:00 pm in the Dance Theatre, located in the English Building on The University of Alabama campus. Tickets can be purchased online at ua.universitytickets.com, calling the UA Theatre and Dance ticket office at (205) 348-3400, or visiting in person at Rowand Johnson Hall from 12 – 4 pm, Monday through Friday.
