Dance students showcase their own creativity

George Mason University's School of Dance students will be showcasing the work of student choreographers at this year's May concert (photo courtesy of Mason's School of Dance).

For a dance choreographer, inspiration is the key ingredient for evey performance. Whether the inspiration comes from the music or the movement, it evolves into a complete piece that becomes a story.

Seniors Tikiri Shapiro and Janine Baumgardner, along with other juniors and seniors in Mason’s School of Dance, were given the opportunity to choreograph original pieces to be performed in the May Dance Concert  on Friday, May 3 at 8 p.m. and on Saturday, May 4 at 8 p.m. in Harris Theater.

“[Choreography is] learning to fit your movement into someone else’s body through failing and succeeding and commanding a room,” Shapiro said.

The students choreograph the pieces and lead the creative process of their work. However, the dance faculty, a technical theater crew, and a costuming crew are all highly involved in each choerographers piece. 

Choreography is a creative outlet for the students in the School of Dance and the May Concert is their chance to show everyone a semester’s worth of the work that goes into the creative process.     

This upcoming showcase gives the students the unique opportunity to explore complete freedom over every aspect within a dance work from the costuming, lighting, music, directing, and leading rehearsals with their cast. .

Shapiro's piece, “Dreams Pulling Puppets Out of a Box,” was inspired by the vocals of Florent Ghys. Shapiro explained how the music reminded her of puppets on strings, like characters stuck in a box. 

“The story unfolded by itself in the rehearsal process,” Shaprio said, adding that many of her fellow dancers also contributed to the creation of her piece.
The storyline of Shapiro's piece centers on puppets following dream-like figures outside of a box on stage."

Though Shaprio used music as the catalyst for her piece, Baumgardner’s piece “Facing Me,” which began as a collection of solos later turned into a duet, was inspired by movement that evolved through the rehersal process with her dance cast. 

Baumgardner’s piece, performed to the song “Strange Steps” by the music group So Percussion, shows her process of crafting an entire dance based on the idea of one movement in dance interpreted movement by movement.

The May Concert not only gives the dance students an opportunity to choreograph in a professional setting, but it also gives all Mason students the opportunity to see modern dance performed.

The show is a compilation of student and faculty pieces that display how broad the genre of modern dance can be, while exposing the art of dance to anyone within the Mason community. The School of Dance has given its students the opportunity to take what they’ve learned and use it in the professional world.