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My reflections: Throughout the past three years, my performance journey has been rooted in growth and embracing the unknown. Each piece I have been cast in has pushed the boundaries of what I believed I could do, including technical styles, theatrics, and improvisation. This all began when I danced in Lauren Jershin’s piece freshman year. Her piece pushed me as a performer in pursuit of artistic qualities I had not been exposed to yet. Since then, I embraced that sense of discomfort in all of my pieces with the intention of growing not just technical, but as an artist throughout each process.

This year, I am particularly interested in doing a creative team. Over the summer, I reflected a lot on my post-graduation goals. I have a strong interest in media and journalism, and I believe the opportunity to cultivate these skillsets in a dance/classroom setting would be invaluable. I additionally would love a piece that pushes me technically. While I love that my past performance experience has been very artistically challenging, I really want to dance in a piece where I can tap into my love for technicality and lyrical styles of dance.

This year I will prioritize balance. I have a very heavy schedule - 20 hours of classes and a 20 hour internship. I want to find space for joy and rest. I don’t want to allow my classes to consume me in the way they did last year. I want to be present in my work and have intention behind it. I want more than just going through the motions.

Emma's Thoughts:

Emma shared with me that she balances her performance commitment for PDPR with other dance orgs outside of class. This can cause a lot of stress and be quite difficult at times. This semester, she hopes that it is not as overwhelming. She also said she values the professionalism of dancers in PDPR. This caused me to reflect on the fact that I am grateful for the opportunity to perform each semester in main stage, professional productions where I can grow alongside my peers.

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Roomie for the past four years!! Thx Dance Area :)

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Roomie for the past four years!! Thx Dance Area :)

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EG:

What was exciting?

I found it exciting to work alongside EG and Aida. They are both dancers I deeply respect, and I valued the opportunity to learn from them. I also appreciated that the audition was very focused on connecting with the group as whole and taking ourselves out of the movement and into our emotional selves in order to represent the intention of defeat.

What was challenging?

I found the vulnerability of this combo difficult. The act of surrendering yourself to the group and the movement pushed me to trust not only myself, but those around me.

How would this process help you grow?

I think this piece would help me to grow because it will push me to think beyond technically mastering a combo. So frequently, I loose sight of the meaning behind a dance because I am so laser focused on my technique. I feel that working with EG throughout this process will help me to explore and prioritize other facets of my dancing as well.

Mak

What was exciting?

It was exciting to dance in Mikayla's style. I think her choreography is incredibly unique and challenging in all the right ways. I loved embodying her movement while finding my creative choices within the combo.

What was challenging?

It was challenging to find confidence in my own choices. After fracturing the combo, I found myself doubting my own abilities and comparing myself to other dancers in the room.

How would this process help you grow?

I think that because Mikayla priorities creative authenticity and originality from her dancers, this would push me to grow in my confidence as an artist and my ability to make risky choices within my movement.

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A musical representation of how it felt to get to dance after a summer of not being able to take class consistently :)

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Preview clip to the awesome trailer coming up!!!

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What has been a delight for you in this process?

I have loved getting to work behind the scenes in this process. Getting to see my peers individually grow throughout their processes fills me with joy. I appreciate getting to connect with the rehearsal process from a new point of view and using my creative energy to capture the dancer’s and choreographer’s work on camera.

What have you contributed to the piece and to the realization of a creative community of caring, kickass artists?

The main project I am contributing to is the trailer. This has been a fun way to develop my technical skills in video editing and using Adobe Premiere while staying connected to dance.

What have you learned from someone else in your cast and/or the choreographer/creative leaders of your project?

Everyone in the creative team brings such a different background and media expertise. Some thrive taking photos while others are talented with social media. I have been able to grow from working with each of them and improve my own skillsets.

What have you done to further the intentions and goals you set for yourself at the top of the semester?

This semester my intention was to find joy in work and maintain balance. While I have been super busy, I am proud that I have maintained for the most part. It has allowed me to pour myself into my work without over committing. I have found myself more present in my classes and wanting to work hard because I genuinely find joy and fulfillment from my work.

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What connections are you making between this experience and other life experiences:

I am learning the importance of clear communication when working with a team. Archival team is working differently this year, as it is more self paced. This has taught me to have initiative towards the projects I am working on as well as the importance of reaching out to team leaders in order to verify expectations for a project.

What has been a delight for you:

I just completed the horizontal trailer, which was a fun and rewarding experince. I loved watching snippets of the show and being able to highlight dancers' skillsets in the video. It was cool seeing my work posted on the instagram.

What have you learned from someone else in your cast/creative leaders in your project:

I've really learned the importance of adminsitration and organization for executing a social media strategy. While on the surface, social media seems quite creative and impulsive, so much planning is actually required to produce a strong final product.

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How I am feeling because the semester is almost over!!!

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A link to the full trailer :)

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What have you learned from someone else

The biggest lesson I learned this semester is the joy a performance can spark when you commit to choreography outside of your comfort zone. I admired all of my peers who committed themselves to this PDPR, even when they were challenged to do style outside of their usual skillsets. From watching Sinclair's cast dance with grounded rhythm in perfect synch to the dancers Vanessa's dancers wholeheartedly embrace their performance to a level that had the entire audeince engaged, this show reminded me of the beautiful product that can emerge when you step outside of what is familiar to you. It inspired me to push myself more in my day-to-day life.

What's next

I hope to continue to work with archival team next semester, even if I am also dancing. It was an eye-opening experience that allowed me to connect with dance from a new lens.

What has been a delight

As stated above, it was a delight to connect with dance from a production and PR standpoint. I am unsure of where dance will fit into my life after graduating, and it is comforting to know there are ways it can always fit into my career even if that isn't directly performing on a stage.

What has been challenging

The biggest challenge this semester was balance. There were a few times this fall where I felt like I was drowning in school work and couldn't commit myself to my projects as deeply as I wished. However, I am proud of how I handled it all and that I managed to accomplish all that I set out to do at the beginning of the semester.

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What have you learned from someone else

The biggest lesson I learned this semester is the joy a performance can spark when you commit to choreography outside of your comfort zone.

What's next

What has been a delight

What has been challenging