Yearlong Audition | Rex Kennedy spends as much time in the studio as out

Michael Todd
Assistant Spectrum Editor

For the majority of VCUarts freshmen, the foundation year is one of long nights, a heavy workload and overall difficulty adjusting to the college lifestyle. For dance major Rex Kennedy, however, everything seems to be falling seamlessly into place, so much so that his extracurricular as well as his academic life is thriving.

In terms of his major, Kennedy does not appear to be experiencing any of the difficulties rumored of most art majors, with rehearsals and classes progressing comfortably.

For Kennedy’s modern dance technique class, this week marks the end of his instruction under professor Autumn Proctor before Christian Von Howard takes over for the remainder of the semester.

“Class with Autumn has been awesome,” Kennedy said. “She’s really current and is invested in all of our personal growth.”

Though it is rumored that Von Howard is a more difficult, “fast-paced” teacher, Kennedy anticipates that he is ready and capable of handling the challenge.

Perhaps most notably of any dance affiliated event, Wednesday, Kennedy took a trip to the Anderson Gallery, located on the Monroe Park Campus, where he and his class participated in an improvisational exercise inspired by the work they viewed.

Despite all of the time and effort Kennedy has been investing in his curriculum, he still finds plenty of time to unwind and enjoy his downtime.

Two weeks ago, Kennedy traveled with friends to Virginia Beach for the weekend. It was the first time in years that Kennedy had seen the ocean, the last time being when he visited Hawaii with his family four years ago.

More recently, Kennedy spent a night out at Mars Bar, an ’80’s dance bar in Shockoe Bottom, with fellow dance major Rachel Brady.

“(We) had a blast because there was no one there,” said Kennedy. “We just danced and were awkward and crazy.”

Kennedy has been putting in applications at various store locations in an attempt to obtain a job on top of his school and extracurricular activities. He has applied to Bath & Body Works, Urban Outfitters, Bakers and Which Wich. Though he has received no responses, Kennedy hopes to get the job at Urban Outfitters.

One of Kennedy’s most exciting and recent events was his first tattoo, which he got this past Thursday. The tattoo features a pair of hands positioned above an eye within a sphere, with the two connected by strands of thread-like extensions. This symbol is inspired by and representative of the All-Seeing Eye, and corresponds with the fourth chakra, which represents creativity and the ability to execute life pursuits.

“I’ve always wanted to have artwork on my body and I couldn’t be happier,” Kennedy said of the new addition.

Kennedy became interested in the concept of chakras after speaking with a past art philosophy teacher about his travels in India. In Indian culture, chakras are believed to be concentrations of energy as well as focal points in the body that are connected to major organs and glands.

The word chakra originates from Sanskrit and is most clearly translatable into a word like “wheel” or “turning.” Though the fourth chakra technically corresponds to the sternum, Kennedy’s tattoo is located on his back, more specifically the stretch of spine between his shoulder blades, for easy coverage during a performance.

However, with a focus on midterms, there is special emphasis on the fact there is still another half to the current semester and that Kennedy’s freshman year is far from over.

While he may be currently experiencing calm waters, Kennedy still has a long way to go before his freshman year is complete.