New Perspectives in Motion: Freshworks 2026 Opens April 24
Photo by A. Pierce Bounds '71.
'Stunning' performance includes senior project, alumna work
Every spring, Dickinson’s Department of Theatre & Dance celebrates the talents of student choreographers and dancers by bringing bold and thought-provoking new works to the stage. The 2026 concert, Freshworks: An Evening of Student Choreography, is further distinguished by the contributions of a dance department alumna and by several visiting professional artists, on campus through the donor-funded visiting dance artist program.
Freshworks runs Friday, April 24, and Saturday, April 25, at 7 p.m. and Sunday, April 26 at 2 p.m. All performances are in Mathers Theatre, in the Holland Union Building.
The concert opens with choreography by Sophia Acquista ’24, who studied dance and political science at Dickinson and returns to campus as an adjunct instructor of props and sound. Freshworks continues with works by students in advanced choreography class taught by the dance program’s inaugural visiting professional dance artist, Jungeun Kim. Those students are:
- Livee Gillin ’28 (dance)
- Kenton Hollander ’26 (educational studies)
- Rachael Kaptein ’28 (dance, English)
- Louise Karlberg ’27 (political science)
- Phong “Bom” Nguyen ‘28 (dance, international business & management)
- Jane Stewart ’27 (educational studies, English)
“The results from Kim's class are stunning,” says Director of Dance Sarah Skaggs. “Each dance piece shows careful attention to form, line and dynamic range,” touching on themes as diverse as the persistent quest for human connection, the upsides of change, tense family dynamics, self-discovery and personal experiences with journaling.
Enhanced by visiting lighting designer Josh Monroe and contemporary costumes designed by Visiting Professor Cassandra Duimstra and costume studio manager Juli Bounds, the concert closes with senior thesis choreography by Cassandra Jackson ’26 (economics, dance). Her work, “Don’t Look at Me,” reflects on the pressures related to performance, including performance through social media, and questions the meaning of performance itself.
Rehearsing her thesis work, Jackson combined disciplined full-body warmups and free improvisational sessions, guided by prompts, to help dancers Marja Barrett ’26 (environmental science), Brooke Engelke ’27 (biochemistry & molecular biology) and Erin Miller ‘29 (chemistry) crystalize their characters and contribute creative ideas. She says that music design by Ojoo MacApiyo ’28 (international business & management) was also key.
“Watching the piece come to life was pure fun,” says Jackson, who will put both of her majors to work this summer as a finance intern for the 2026 American Dance Festival.
Freshworks tickets start at $5.
TAKE THE NEXT STEPS
Published April 23, 2026