This Saturday, VCU’s dance department opened its Grace Street Theatre stage to student-created work. The pieces were choreographed outside of class time and without faculty input or adjudication.
Many of the choreographers and performers in the Spring Informal are underclassmen. The event served as an opportunity for choreographers to show their work in a public space and receive feedback.
Three of the pieces were video-choreography works. Filming dance in various outdoor settings or in other alternative spaces can enrich their message and shape their choreographic style.
Editing and poor video quality distracted from parts of the works. Overall the works were inventive, introspective and personal. From backyards to junkyards, rooftops to parking lots, these videos proved the stage isn’t the only place for dancing.
“It was a great experience to be a part of something that was entirely student-driven,” said freshman Casey Royer, a choreographer and performer in the show. “It’s awesome to see the great student work created outside of class.”
Senior Eliza Diener-Brazelle’s “I Write My Own Stories So I Won’t Be Lonely” is a bright and delicate self-choreographed endeavor. Senior Travis Sisk’s “How to Kill a Muse” saw junior Courtney Cooke in a bizarre daydream.
Junior Cherish Horton choreographed a quirky duet between Tyrone Cooper and Eric Ortega. The piece examines an almost-childlike relationship between two men, between black and white, with the color difference reinforced by their costumes.
“The 10 Worlds” by Whitney Flores attempts to display diversity. Like a shuffling iPod gone wrong, it mixes nine pop, hip-hop and rock songs, adds suggestive high school quality dance moves and results in a directionless, non-cohesive thought.
Royer’s piece, “Pitter Patter,” shows greater development than many of the other freshmen presentations. Unfortunately the piece ends just as the movement starts to gain momentum and plays deliciously with tempo and spacing.
“I felt like the piece I choreographed was well-received and well-performed,” Royer said. “It’s great to have some feedback on where I can take the piece.”