From classical ballet to raw modern dance pieces, the program “DanceTCU Presents: On the Move” will unite over 60 TCU dance students to perform in and help produce this weekend’s shows, a dance school official said.
Ellen Page Shelton, director of the TCU School for Classical and Contemporary Dance, said “On the Move” includes a diverse program with multiple dance pieces and features choreography from faculty and guest choreographers.
Working with guest choreographers provides unique experiences for the students as they learn from them and create contacts that may help in their future careers, she said.
Jenn Shinn, a sophomore ballet major, said she has danced for 16 years, and will dance two contrasting pieces during the performance. The first, the second act of “Swan Lake,” is classical ballet, while the second, “Elegie” from Tchaikovsky Suite No. 3, is a modern, more contemporary piece, she said.
In taking on the two pieces, despite the stark differences in style, she provides an example of the versatility of the dancers.
Suki John, a modern dance professor, said having the opportunity to work with a guest artist makes the dancers more diverse.
“Our ballet program is so strong that our modern dancers benefit from the foundation they get from ballet,” she said.
“Our modern program is so strong that our ballet dancers are exposed to all kinds of modern movement that can now be expected in ballet studios,” John said.
This diversity will be reflected not only in the variety of pieces but also in the ability of the dancers to take on different types of dance in the performance, she said.
“We have to have versatility in order to produce dancers who are going to work professionally,” John said.
Programs like “On the Move” are performed by the dance school each semester, and the entire semester’s classes have been preparing the students for the performance, John said.
“I would like people to come away with real respect for the dancers,” she said. “The students in the TCU program are extremely talented, very hardworking, really preparing very seriously for a professional life in dance.”
Shelton said the audience will come away from the performances with a new appreciation of different dance styles. She said attendees will experience different personalities and moods both in the choreographers’ visions for the pieces and the dancers’ movements.
What: DanceTCU Presents “On The Move”
Where: Ed Landreth Auditorium
When: Friday at 8 p.m., Saturday and Sunday at 2 and 8 p.m.
$10 general admission, free with TCU ID, $5 non-TCU students with ID. No advance sales.
For more information, call 817-257-7615