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THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
1B
THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 15, 2001
Dancing delight
Beau Hancock, Hugoton sophomore, and Deanna Doyle, Shawnee Mission junior, execute their duet in "Power Surge."
Fall concert to kick off tonight in Lied Center
BY LAUREN BEATTY PHOTOS BYJOHN NOWAK
The University Dance Company performs "Allegro con Brio" during a rehearsal Monday night at the Lied Center. The dancers will be performing at 7:30 tonight and tomorrow at the Lied Center.
The mood backstage is charged with electricity. Dancers stretch, comb back stray pieces of hair and smooth their costumes.
The stage manager at the Lied Center reminds the dancers to keep their voices down, but they just can't help it. He tells them to take their places and the curtain files up. A false start—one performer juts on in stage too soon. Nervous giggles erupt from the dancers as the curtain comes back down and the music is recued.
It is a rehearsal only two days before the big show. For the entire semester, the University Dance Company has been hard at work preparing for the Fall Concert, which will take place at 7:30 p.m. tonight and tomorrow at the Lied Center. Admission to both performances is $7 general and $5 for students and senior citizens.
Hours of rehearsal time have been logged, the technical aspects have been worked and reworked, the costumes have been fitted and the music has been cued. For the members of the company, this is what it's all about. Performance in front of an audience is the dream of many of these young men and women. They don't mind giving up parties and sometimes sleep to rehearse. In fact, they welcome it.
"I live to perform," said Megan Jensen, vice president of the company and Olathe junior. "Everything I've worked for is about to pay off."
The University Dance Company started in 1978. The company has staged concerts each semester since that first fall. The concerts started in Hoch Auditorium, moved to the Crafton-Preyer Theatre in Murphy Hall and have been performed in its most recent home, the Lied Center, since 1996.
The company begins anew each semester with new dancers and new choreographers. The auditions are at the start of the semester and rehearsals begin immediately. The choreographers pick the dancers according to how many people they will need in their dance. Choreographers are instructors and professors in the dance department and each semester the company brings in a special guest choreographer.
"It's an awesome experience because it's like being in a real company," said Brandi Scallom, president of the company. "You're responsible for learning tech, your moves and performing in front of an audience."
Auditions are open to anyone although dance majors are required to be a part of the company for at least two semesters.
"Anyone who has grown up dancing never wants to stop." Scallorn said. "If you love dancing, this experience is wonderful."
Scallorn, a Lee's Summit, Mo., junior, has been involved with the company for three semesters now and plans on continuing until she graduates.
Rehearsals for each dance are typically two to three times per week and last between two and three hours. For dancers who are in more than one act, the schedule is demanding.
"It's quite a commitment," Scallorn said. "We work really hard and the choreographers are great."
The concerts don't have an overall theme and this year there is a mix of ballet, jazz and modern dance.
"it's a good show for those who love dance and those who have never been to a dance recital," Scaillorn said.
Jeff Potter, Great Bend sophomore, is one of the few men in the company. He said there are benefits and drawbacks to being a lone male in dance.
"It's nice because there is less competition," Potter said. "But I'd like to see more guys get involved in dance."
"Everyone is optimistic and we have a lot of fun," Potter said. "You've been working so hard and it's finally paying off."
This fall, the concert consists of five dances choreographed by University faculty and special guest Karole Armitage. Armitage's dance is a romantic, lyrical number called "Power Surge." It is a mixture of ballet, modern and pop moves danced to Philip Glass" "Mishima String Quartet." Armitage studied dance in Lawrence, where she grew up, and trained at the North Carolina School of Arts. She now directs the Ballet de Lorraine.
Potter is majoring in dance and said he has to take technique classes to obtain his degree, but the fall concert is the best opportunity to perform live. He said the mood is always upbeat right before the show.
graduation year.
Jensen said the company, as well as the dance department as a whole, is like a family to her. She said because of all the hard work that goes into the show, she is disappointed by the frequent low turnouts at the concerts. She said she thought a lot of people simply didn't know about the concerts the company staged.
Dance instructor Willie Lenoir's piece is called "Oxford Suite, Part I," a lyrical dance to music by Ed Alleyne-Johnson. The choreography is derived from images of music.
"It's like an out-of-body experience," she said. "After the show is the best part, when everyone is coming up and congratulating you."
Patrick Suzeau, instructor of dance, has created a dance based on recent tragic events. "Opus 2001" features 17 dancers and the music of Henri Michaux.
"The energy of the music helps to propel the dance and the dancers," Hilding said.
Jensen said the best part of being in the show was after the actual dancing is over.
Muriel Cohan, instructor of dance, has choreographed "Figure Humeine" based on the poetry of Paul Eluard. Jerel Hilding, assistant professor of dance, has restaged his ballet "Allegro con Brio." Thirteen women and two men are in this ballet featuring Felix Mendelssohn's "String Symphony in G Minor." Hilding said Mendelssohn's music is influenced greatly by Johann Sebastian Bach. He said there is no overall theme or plot to his dance—he just got the inspiration from the music.
No matter how many people fill the seats, these dancers give it their all every night in order to capture the magic of dance.
"It's just a feeling you get when you're on stage," Potter said. "I can't explain it. It is a really good feel."
Contact Beatty at 864-4810