The School for Classical and Contemporary Dance (SCCDance) is celebrating its 75th anniversary this weekend with opportunities for alumni and students alike.
The last weekend of October kicks off with alumni events such as receptions, dinners, dance classes, networking and tours.
Professor Elizabeth Gillaspy, a TCU dance alumna, is looking forward to welcoming 105 alumni back into a renovated Erma Lowe Hall.
“We have alums coming who have taken their dance educations into extraordinary directions and it’s really great for our current students to get to pick their brains,” Gillaspy said.
With an alumni network dating back to the 1950s, SCCDance graduates have taken their educations and contributed to diverse areas within and beyond the world of dance.
TCU dance alumni are now performers, choreographers, directors, instructors, educators, founders, arts administrators, physical and dance therapists and more.
One alumni duo in particular will be featured during the 75th anniversary concert exclusively on Saturday with a special dance work created to honor alumni by Joy Bollinger, ’02, the artistic director and resident choreographer of Bruce Wood Dance Dallas.
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Domingo Estrada Jr., ’07 said, “It is a treasure to be associated with such a fine program and university and I am more than thrilled to take part in the 75th Anniversary celebration.”
The TCU School for Classical & Contemporary Dance blends artistic integrity and technical excellence with academic challenge to give students a full experience and prepare them for the field.
“The fact that TCU has always valued dance’s place in the fine arts is a really wonderful thing and the university support for this art form has had a big impact on its overall development,” Gillaspy said.
Brad Garner, the new director of dance at TCU, said that he is excited to meet so many alumni that will help him gather information about what they’ve been doing and potential ideas they have for where TCU SCCDance could go from here.
Looking to the 100th, Garner said that he wants to “make sure that we are mirroring and in dialogue with the field around us by really paying attention to how the field is shifting, staying in dialogue with guest artists, getting ourselves out and experiencing the works as they are emerging.”
Roommates Bella Nelson and Kinsey Ganson, both sophomore ballet majors, said that they are thrilled to perform at such an exciting time because it will be a joyous celebration and reunion with beloved alumni.
“We are blessed to have brought in such incredible guest choreographers and all the dancers have worked very hard to achieve their visions,” said Nelson and Ganson.
Students and community members can get tickets to see Nelson and Ganson perform with the rest of the approximately 70 dance students at the DanceTCU Concerts in the Ed Landreth Auditorium. Concerts started Thursday and will run through Saturday.
