Last week was tech week for DanceTech! We spent our evenings in The CH Foundation The Legacy of Christine DeVitt Black Box Theatre applying the final design touches to our seven dance works.  Rehearsals for some works began in the fall semester, while others were put together with a few rehearsals this spring. Each work is quite different and showcases the true brilliance of our student performers. 
 
As I mentioned in the previous newsletter, we started the year off with a big bang, welcoming renowned tap artist, Jason Samuels Smith, for a five-day residency. He taught a few classes, gave an artist talk, and created a new work with sixteen dance and musical theatre students that will be featured in this year's production of DanceTech. I can't wait for audiences to see this work – it will have you tapping along and bring you to your feet!
 
This year's DanceTech production will also feature choreography by five dance faculty members – Anthony “YNOT” Denaro, Genevieve Durham DeCesaro, Melissa Brading, Yvonne Racz Key, and myself. Some choreographers found inspiration from writers like James Baldwin and Peter Wohlleben, while others found inspiration from real life events or created fictional stories. Dr. Justin Houser, composer and sound designer for this production, programmed a motion-tracking system to one of his compositions that allows for the dancer onstage to actively control elements of the music through their movements. Each piece finds a way to explore humanity and loss through each choreographers' specific lenses, exploring visceral honesty within the movement.
 
DanceTech will feature lighting design by John Conner (lecturer), scenic design by Matt Chilcoat (graduate student), and costume design by Meagan Woodard (graduate student), assisted by Ashley Fenton (undergraduate student). We are quite lucky to have our school's production manager, Joshua Whitt, also serving as our stage manager for this production. And shoutout to our crew, comprised of undergraduate students in the department. It takes a quite a team to produce this show, and I appreciate those who have contributed to this production, including our technical staff, Kyle Rainey (Technical Director) and Kyle Jensen (Production Electrician & Sound Engineer).
 
As I joined crew watch for DanceTech, I was struck by how this production exemplified a true collaboration between theatre and dance. We have five musical theatre majors, one Performance & Pedagogy graduate student, and thirty-plus dance majors/minors performing in this production, plus our amazing design students helping behind the scenes. It's delightful to see these students performing together onstage – truly inspiring. And while this is a dance concert, I am happy to see such a diverse number of students outside of the dance program participating in the production. This trend continues with our upcoming productions of Frontier Fest and Sweet Charity! 
 
Don't miss your chance to see DanceTech March 2-4 in The CH Foundation The Legacy of Christine DeVitt Black Box Theatre!