UofSC Dance Majors Develop Choreographic Voice with Student Choreography Showcase

The University of South Carolina dance program will present a select group of premiere original works in its upcoming Student Choreography Showcase November 30 - December 3 at Drayton Hall Theatre.

Show time is 7pm nightly. Admission is $15 for students, $20 for UofSC faculty/staff, military, and seniors 60+, and $22 for the public. Tickets may be purchased online at sc.universitytickets.com. Drayton Hall Theatre is located at 1214 College St., across from the historic UofSC Horseshoe. In keeping with university safety protocols, masks will be required of all audience members, dancers and crew, and seating will be limited to allow for appropriate social distancing between all patrons.

The bi-annual Student Choreography Showcase provides a unique opportunity for students of the dance program to gain experience in choreography while fostering their own choreographic voice. In developing their works, the students participated in a collaborative creation process in a course taught by UofSC Associate Professor Jennifer Deckert. The course provided students with multiple workshop sessions guided by the Liz Lerman Critical Response Process, a system for facilitating fair and impartial peer feedback.

"Choreography is messy and deeply personal," says Deckert, "and figuring out ways to provide feedback that is constructive, that is supportive, and that honors each individual voice in the room is super important."

The concert gives audiences an inside look into the individual inspirations and choreographic styles of these young dance artists, whose works span such styles as ballet, contemporary dance, and musical theater. Presenting these unique works are dance majors Lydia Acker, Emily Arnold, Julia Dunne, Allison Egeli, Adele Grohovsky, Ellery Jernigan, Natalie Long, Maddie Sellers, and Cami Surro.

Arnold describes her still-untitled work as a reflective, introspective contemporary ballet that explores her relationship with dance over the years. She hopes that "the audience will be able to relate to my journey of evolving and interpret the piece as it pertains to their own journeys".

Allison Egeli's piece, The Corps, is inspired by the connectedness between dance and the human body. As a student double majoring in Dance and Biology, Egeli wants to demonstrate the connections between the two fields. "I often say that the body is the artistic medium for dance, just as a canvas is for an artist," she says.

Maddie Sellers' Welcome to the New World is described by the choreographer as "a musical theater-inspired piece that makes an energetic, feminine, and playful statement on the grand possibilities of a sparkling night out in New York City."

"Providing opportunities for this generation of dancers and choreographers to tell their story is so important because they have had different experiences and live in different environments," says Deckert. "It's through dance and choreography that we're able to tap into the histories, stories, and voices of this generation."

Each choreographer has their own story to tell, and this concert gives them the opportunity to do so through creating movement. "Just watching my peers' work, it's all very personal," says Arnold. "There is a wide variety of different types of movement, and you can see each individual dancers' style come out in their piece."

For more information on the Student Choreography Showcase or the dance program at the University of South Carolina, contact Kevin Bush by phone at 803-777-9353 or via email at bushk@mailbox.sc.edu.