Dancing at Winona State University

INTRODUCTION

Coming to Winona State University in the fall of 2015, I knew I wanted to continue performing, but I had no intention becoming a dance minor. It was not until my friend said I should audition for Dancescape because she thought it would be right up my alley, so I took the risk. At auditions, I remember speaking with Gretchen Cohenour about the dance minor program. Little did I know at the time that it was one of the best decisions for my college career. Throughout the program, I have evolved as a dancer, mover, and person along with receiving many opportunities to travel, perform, and network. Reflecting, I would not be where I am today without participating in this program. My final days with the Winona State Theatre & Dance Department I cannot help, but reflect on everything I have been through including classes, clubs, performances, festivals, connections to my major, and so much more.

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CLASSES

Throughout my dance career at Winona State, I have taken a wide variety of classes that involve movement, technique, terminology, history, and more. Freshman year, I took Dance Reparatory, Dancescape, Perf 1 for Everyone, and Dance Appreciation. Sophomore year, I took Jazz Dance 2, Dance Composition, Modern 1, Dancescape, Dance Reparatory 3 and THAD Showcase. Junior year, I took Modern 2, THAD Showcase, Dance Reparatory 3, Ballet 1, Dancescape Production Assistant, Modern 3, THAD Showcase, Dancescape, and Ballet 1. Senior year, I took Modern 4, Dance Reparatory 4, and Dancescape. As I continued to take technique class, I noticed myself understanding terminology and being able to understand my body more. In Modern 2, I learned a lot about myself that I even stated “I have learned my powerful movement is not a weakness. It is hard for some people to reach this quality in their dancing and I should not be discouraged. I continue to work on being more relaxed all the time, but I have seen progress throughout my time in this class. Taking risks in movement creates more interest and even makes it more fun as a dancer.” The classes have helped me understand that everyone has their own style of dance, which does not make one person better than the other. Dance is a method of movement that is appreciated in all forms. 

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DANCESCAPE AND SPRING DANCE CONCERT

As a Dance Minor, I have participated all four years of my college career in the Dancescape and Spring Dance Show productions. The performances I have been involved in include Dancescape 2016, It is Well, Dancescape 2017, Intertwined, Dancescape 2018, Phoenix, Dancescape 2019, and Offbeat. Participating in these different productions I have taken on many roles including dancer, choreographer, production assistant, and director. My involvement in Dancescape 2016 included performing in two pieces including Erin Liebhard’s ...thWUmp... and Kaylin Hardwig’s 6/7. After this experience, I dived in to the process head first and did not look back. The following Dancescape productions I was involved in six pieces in 2017, five pieces in 2018, and five pieces in 2019. Along with performing in 2018, I also took on the role as production assistant, which I helped with the audition process, art administration work, and being a leader for those who were in need. The spring dance shows I have performed all four years in many different styles of dance, I choreographed for three years in this dance process, and I directed two years, which include Intertwined and Offbeat. Over the years, my passion for performing dance has only grown. I became more invested in our dance community and a role model those coming in. These shows really were my highlight of my dance progression here at Winona State University. 

ACDA

Every year there is the annual ACDA Dance Festival held in the spring and I was fortunate enough to attend all four years, perform three of the years, and submit work my senior year. The first year I was fortunate to perform in Erinn Liebhard’s piece …thWUmp…in the ACDA 2016 Adjudication Concert. The following year I did not perform at all, but continued to participate in a variety of classes. ACDA 2018 was held at UW-Madison and I performed in Erin Drummond’s piece, Xx,which was selected to be performed in the Gala Concert at the end of the festival. My last year at ACDA in 2019, I performed in many pieces in the Informal and Adjudication Concert. In the informal concert, I performed in Wesley Holm’s piece, in_our_current_state. Following, I performed twice in the Adjudication Concert, which included Erin Drummond’s we heard them speak these paths in airand my own solo I developed for Dancescape 2019 titled human error. My solo piece was selected by a panel to be performed again in the Gala Concert at the end of the festival. Over the years of attending ACDA, I can see and feel the growth of being a dancer. A great way to end my senior year was having the ability to talk with the adjudicators about my piece at my last ACDA. “As I was getting ready to leave the conference, I had a nice chat with Janis about my piece and my future. She was shocked that I was only an undergraduate. Speaking with all three adjudicators at the end was such an honor.”

DANCE SOCIETY

Freshman year, one of the dancers invited me to a Dance Society meeting and from there on I have been on the board for two years as secretary and one year as co-president. My first year on the board of Dance Society I was the secretary. I learned a lot about note taking, creating group emails, and working together on different events for our club. The second year on board, I stayed as secretary and continued to help grow our community. My last year on the Dance Society board I was nominated as co-president with Hannah Ose. Being president of a club is an honor and helps build leadership skills. As a team, we tried to come up with new ways to promote the club and build our community. Some of the new events we added were the Culver’s Fundraiser and the Movie Night, which both were a hit and hopefully will continue to part of the Dance Society calendar. I have enjoyed taking part in this community over the past four years. 

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CONNECTIONS TO MAJOR

            At the beginning of my college career I thought a dance minor would just be a fun thing to add to my schedule, but little did I know that it connected to my double major in Mass Communications: Creative Digital Media and Film Studies. All three of my studies involve creative freedom and over the years I have been interested in how they can work together to tell a story. For my final Mass Communications Capstone, I had the opportunity to combine all my studies into one mediate dance performance project titled, Not So Fresh When You Have Senioritis. Before that project, I created a senior solo for Dancescape 2019 that incorporated video projection and dance. This piece was titled human errorand it was also presented at ACDA 2019. Over the years, I have made promotional videos for the Dancescape auditions and shows. I have been able to analyze dance films and participate in dancing for the camera classes and production. There are many ways that I have been able to expand my creativity and connect them together to create many storytelling works. 

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FRESHMAN TO SENIOR YEAR PROGRESS

            Coming into Winona State University I did not know what my opportunities for dance were and now I have fully invested my whole heart into the dance program. I was involved in musical theater and show choir in high school and knew I wanted to continue to dance and perform. I wouldn’t be where I am today if my high school friend who also went to Winona State told me to audition for Dancescape 2016. Before Dancescape, I did not even know what modern dance was and my thoughts after my first Dancescape were “I do love to dance. I feel I have learned a lot about my body through Dancescape. I am so powerful and energetic, but now learned how to loosen and become jelly.” Throughout the years, I have struggled with being a type casted dancer such as always being the lifter or being put in the high paced pieces. Over time, I have learned to not think of that as a negative, but a strength while also finding myself progressing as a dynamic performer being put in new roles such as lyrics or being lifted. Looking back at my initial reaction to Dancescape is why now I can’t see myself without it. 

CONCLUSION

My final days with the Winona State Theatre & Dance Department I cannot help, but reflect on everything I have been through including classes, clubs, performances, festivals, connections to my major, and so much more. As I prepare myself for post-graduation, WSU THAD has only shown me that I do not want to be done with dance. I believe this program prepared me for something bigger by providing many different resources and networking opportunities. I have learned that dance is more than just technique, but movement that expresses feeling. It’s a universal language that all can share. I cannot express how grateful I am for these challenge and experiences. Over the years, I have grown from being a dancer to choreographer and leader in the dance community that I hope many develop in their time in the WSU Dance program. 

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