Dancing on the Cutting Edge

by MaryAlice Bitts-Jackson

What’s going on in the professional arts scene right now? Students performing in The Dance Show are in the know, and their audiences will be too.

The Dance Show is an annual concert that presents new works by current choreographers, performed by students in Dickinson's dance department and Dance Theatre Group (DTG). Each year, accomplished choreographers travel to Dickinson to work directly with students as they interpret and prepare the works, which represent the latest developments in the modern-dance world.

“Working with different choreographers has given me greater insight into the creative process,” says Olivia Poulin ’17, a 16-year dance veteran who has participated in dance competitions and conventions. “Each piece has transformed so much since we began, and I am so excited to experience the final product on stage.”

This year's performance, held Nov. 15-17 at Mathers Theatre, features new works by Pam Tanowitz, a Bessie Award-winning choreographer who holds an artistic residency at Dickinson this semester; Bliss Kohlmyer ’97, a professional choreographer/dancer and educator at the University of South Florida; Janet Peck, director of the N'Bönyé Dance and Drum Ensemble; and Dina Verley Christoph, Dickinson’s postgraduate fellow in dance. The performance also includes an excerpt from The New Ecstatic, a work that Director of Dance Sarah Skaggs premiered last month in New York. The excerpt features student performances and a solo by guest dancer Cori Kresge.

The experience is particularly memorable for new DTG members, particularly those in their first semester at Dickinson. 

“Dancing with my friends in this concert has made my first semester at Dickinson incredible,” said first-year DTG member Sophia Brocenos ’17, who began traditional dance lessons in early childhood. “The [modern] style is very different from my past competitions and years of dancing in The Nutcracker, but it’s all very exciting,” adds fellow DTG member Lexi Tobash '17.