Tapping, swinging and gliding on the stage, Elon University’s Department of Performing Arts presents its spring dance concert, titled “Ready.Set.Go!”
The concert will feature six contemporary pieces choreographed by Elon faculty and guest choreographer Sumi Clements of Summation Dance, a New York City-based dance company.
Although each piece is contemporary, the concert will also showcase ethnic pieces such as “Enter to Exit,” a fusion of African and modern dance choreographed by assistant professor of dance Jason Aryeh. Other pieces are centered around athletic movement and incorporate pilates, yoga and contemporary ballet.
Director Lauren Kearns, dance professor and professional choreographer for more than 25 years, has a vision for the concert that matches the title: high energy, athleticism and intense movement.
“I thought it would be interesting to ask all the choreographers to design a piece around the theme of energy, movement and psychological tension,” Kearns said. “All of the pieces are very different and unique, but they share this contemporary ‘now’ feel.”
Sophomore dancer Hallee Bernstein interpreted the title as a representation of the dance company’s prowess.
“The title shows that we as a company are ready to take off in terms of our artistic ability,” Bernstein said. “Each and every piece shows us off as artists and really proves to the audience how physical and athletic our department is.”
Casting for “Ready.Set.Go!” began in September, when the dance department holds its seasonal auditions for the fall, spring and Black History month concerts. There are four nights of auditions designed to prepare the dancers for the audition process in the professional world.
After auditions, 45 total dancers of every year were chosen to perform in the concert. The rehearsals for some pieces began early in the fall, while others started the first week of spring semester.
Every Winter Term, a guest artist teaches a dance repertory class for which dancers must audition. Clements taught this year’s repertory class, and alumna Allie Lochary ’09, who is a company member of Summation Dance, assisted in choreography.
Kearns chose the choreographer because she thought Clements would challenge Elon’s dancers, but she also wanted to have Lochary so the dancers could work with an alumna.
“I love Summation Dance’s work but ultimately decided to pick them because we have an alumni dancing in the company,” Kearns said. “I know Sumi loves the way that Allie moves, and she trained with us, so I knew that she would really enjoy working with our dancers.”
Working with Clements both sharpened Bernstein’s skills and reaffirmed her decision to move to New York City after college to pursue dance.
“Working with Sumi was incredible and life changing,” Bernstein said. “The choreography was incredibly challenging and different than what we are used to here at Elon, so we all had a nice challenge picking up the work. Sumi is so detail-oriented and really pushed us past our limits.”
Senior dance majors have been juggling preparation for this performance with work on their senior thesis concert, which they will perform in May. Senior Kate Phinney, a dance major, said these two performances sum up her Elon experience.
“The Elon dance community is really great and very familial,” Phinney said. “It gives you a home away from home. I have grown a lot as an individual, and it has really challenged me to not only be the best dancer and choreographer, but also the best version of myself.”
Catch the movement and energy with shows March 13-15 in McCrary Theatre.