To stay in line with the site-specific season for the TTU School of Theatre and Dance this year, students have been asked to create site-specific choreographic works in and around the Creative Movement Studio.

Our students are hard at work on their final choreographic projects. Last week we held a run-through of the works to be featured in November's Fall Dance Festival at the Creative Movement Studio. This was the first draft of the students' work and it gave us all some great insight into where this student driven production will go and we are all excited about the potential.

For this first run-through, Sarah Johnson came in and gave the students valuable feedback on what she saw from a dramaturg's perspective, and the faculty has been weighing in through out the process to mentor the students and make sure that this new challenge of engaging with a place doesn't distract them in the process of shaping the work but instead enriches and adds clarity and focus to their ideas.

Kyla Olson, who is guiding the students states the following:

Student choreographers are gearing up for their thesis choreography projects this November with the production of Fall Dance Festival. To stay in line with the site-specific season for the TTU School of Theatre and Dance this year, students have been asked to create site-specific choreographic works in and around the Creative Movement Studio. Audiences will be asked to travel in and around the CMS to watch each of the 9 student choreographers. Not only are they creating choreography, they are also serving as the production crew, allowing students to gain experience in stage management, lighting, sound, costuming, and promotions.

Below are a couple of students' reflections on this challenge so far to give you a window into their creative process:

Hannah Haeussler:

My experience working on my Fall Dance Festival piece has been an exciting new challenge. It is very inspiring having a new space to work in. This new space has allowed me to create and experiment with concepts and ideas that would not be possible in a traditional stage setting. My space is outside so my cast and I have been faced with challenges that nature provides, but some of these challenges have also provided inspiration. I am excited to keep working and playing in my space in preparation for Fall Dance Festival.

Courtney Rickel:

This semester we are choreographing in a different way than Fall Dance has ever been done before. Site-specific work has created challenges that I, as a choreographer, have had to rise up to. Typically, I bring choreographed material into rehearsal to set on my dancers. In this case I have choreographed all of my material so far on the spot so I can let my site inform where I want to move within the space to stay true to the site-specific nature of the show.

Juliet Wallace:

Envisioning the Fall Dance Festival as an interactive, traveling concert is unique and exciting. I've found many new perspectives for looking at choreography as well as space. Dancing outside for my piece is a challenge especially with the weather lately, but it's also very much natural and adds an enchantment to the production as a whole. As my work develops I hope to create an experience for the audience throughout the journey of my piece. I am so thrilled to be working with the added element of site-specific spaces and the overall collaborative feeling of this year's Fall Dance Festival!

Fall Dance Festival takes place at the Creative Movement Studio November 14-17, 2018.