The Movement dance concert gives students the opportunity to gain full experience in the field of dance without assistance from faculty.
Ohio University dance students are taking the lead in preparing, performing and curating an entire concert — without any faculty assistance.
The event is the annual Movement dance concert. The Movement is composed of a group of students that put on the concert each year. Grace Nicklos, a junior studying dance and the president of The Movement organization, said this year’s concert should be a crowd-pleaser.
“This concert is a great melting of movement styles that will keep the audience engaged,” Nicklos said.
This year’s choreographers are all undergraduate students from the Dance Division. The students created each piece with its own theme.
Nathan Andary, lecturer in dance, said this concert sets itself apart from the other concerts performed by the Dance Division because it is completely run by students. The senior dance concert only showcases senior performers and is produced by faculty and staff. For the winter dance concert, faculty and guest artists choreograph the pieces, and faculty and staff in the Dance Division run the show.
{{tncms-asset app="editorial" id="3d2f12f4-be1a-11e4-8e10-4f7fc13251b8"}}
“(The Movement concert) is critical for their growth and development as a dance artist, a dancer, and as a student of production in dance,” Andary said. “They’ll have their own dance companies, they’ll curate their own shows out in the professional world, so this is a time for them to really practice and learn what goes on behind the scenes and develop those skills.”
Andary said that out of all the concerts the Dance Division is involved in throughout the year, he enjoys this concert the most because of the real-world experience it provides for students.
“A lot of the dancers at OU take a lot of composition classes, so (this concert) is a time to really put that to practice and make our own pieces,” said Jon Lawson, a junior studying dance. “It’s all up to us. We choose the cast, we do the sound and it’s a very nice opportunity.”
Lawson’s piece, titled “Close-Knit,” took him three months to prepare. It reflects being in a close-knit department and observing other students he’s been around during his time at OU.
Lawson said he thinks this concert, along with other opportunities the Dance Division offers, gives him great feedback from professors and professionals.
“I’m looking forward to seeing and hearing the audience, and getting their feedback,” he said.
@annachristine38
