Twenty-one hopefuls waited outside the dance studios in the Center for the Arts Jan. 8 to audition for a spot in DanceWorks, a student- run dance organization on Elon's campus open to all majors and anyone with a passion for dance.
DanceWorks puts on a concert each year and holds master classes, which are either student-run or taught by professionals.
"We're not a group of only dance majors, so we really want to encourage everyone to get involved," said junior Katie Yahner, a dance major. "We encourage majors and non-majors to not only audition but to choreograph. DanceWorks is a crowd-pleaser for people that aren't in the performing arts department, so it brings in another audience that doesn't normally see our shows."
In an age when many schools are losing funding for arts programs, DanceWorks hopes to shed new light on the meaning of dance as an art form. In order to do this, the organization invites anyone and everyone to try a master class or audition for the show.
"It's not just the dance majors that can do things, but rather it's everyone that has been working at it and can have an outlet of showing that," said sophomore Claire Mauro, an international studies and strategic communications double major.
DanceWorks encourages students from all areas of the university to use dance as a form of communication and an expression of their passions.
"Because Elon is such an eclectic community and everyone has something different to offer, a lot of times the part of the student body that isn't in the dance major doesn't get a chance to perform," said junior Kristen Sandler, vice president of DanceWorks. "At DanceWorks we like to show off everyone and all of their skills to promote the love of dance for everyone."
For many of the auditioning dancers and DanceWorks members, dance is more than a club or a class or a pastime.
"(Dance is) everything. It's my emotional and physical outlet," said freshman Kaitlinn Brewer. "I've been dancing all my life, so it's a part of me." Mauro agreed dance is a positive form of expression. "I think it's a great way of combining all the arts, and you put your whole heart and soul into it," Mauro said.
DanceWorks wants the Elon community to see more than a collection of pieces during their performance in March. They want the community to see the expression and interpretation of dance and music.
"We want them to enjoy the talents of their fellow classmates and be able to come together in celebration of these talents," Sandler said.
Brewer said every student deserves to have his or her talents shared with the public.
"I think that when talents are repressed, the world loses so much, which is obvious when you look at anything on the stage," she said. "Getting as many people involved in the arts is the best thing you can possibly do for anybody"