Dear Friends & Family,
Welcome to New Dances/ New Choreographers. A performance showcasing the Junior Repertory Company Dancers, the pre- professional company of the School at DW. This year’s theme is Around Again . Each year the students and I sit down and discuss what their pieces are about and what is relevant in their lives. Each piece is unique in its own right but the common thread and ideas they kept returning to were: cycles, time, connectivity, patterns and growth. As artists we invite you to witness each dance and allow these concepts to connect to your own life. We can’t wait to hear what you saw and how the show impacted you. The student choreographers start the process of creating this show every fall by taking a choreography class where they learn tools and techniques to create dances and cultivate their ideas. In January, they audition their peers and begin to create and translate movement vocabulary to their classmates. As their pieces come to life, we see collaboration, decision making, community and young artists asking themselves what is important to them and how they can present their ideas through movement.
Choreographers participated in all the production elements of this show and with support from DW staff work on marketing and funding tasks including staging, costume, music and lighting choices – and all that hard work leads to what you will see tonight. Beyond the student work, this year the JRC students also had the amazing opportunity of working with professional choreographers Nik Owens and Gina Patterson.
Nik and Gina worked with the dancers intensely over a short period of time similar to a
professional working environment. They asked the dancers to move outside their comfort zones and generate some of the movement as well. It is always so amazing to see our dancers step up to plate and dive head first into this experience. The opportunity to create and present their own work as well as working with guest choreographers is truly an incredible opportunity, usually reserved for dancers at the college level. This show means so much to these young dancers and they have poured their hearts and souls into the process. Thank you for being here to witness their artistry. I am so honored to share this evening with you. We hope you enjoy Around Again .
Michaela Ellingson, Junior Repertory Company Director
Dancer: Zoe Joralemon
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