By Alecia Burningham
Usually they are in the classroom, correcting technique and form. This weekend, however, they are taking over the stage and showing off what they can really do.
The semi-annual faculty dance concert is Thursday and Friday. It is an opportunity for part- and full-time faculty to do creative works on themselves and each other, said Jennie Creer-King, director of the concert and a member of the dance faculty.
“The purpose of the concert is to give a creative venue for the artistic talents of the faculty, either through performing or choreographing,” said Creer-King. “It is also fun for students to see professional artists performing.”
Many members of the faculty have been in professional companies and are really great artists in their own right, she said.
When they are teachers, they do not get to perform as much or express choreography unless the direct a dance team, Creer-King said.
With over 50 dance faculty members and only five performing teams, most of the dance department faculty do not have a chance to choreograph, she said.
“I think it is a great opportunity because they give up performing for teaching and they would still love to do it,” said Kristen Carrier, 20, a junior from Sandy, Utah, majoring in dance.
As one of Creer-King”s students, Carrier said it is fun to see her teacher perform on stage because the way she dances is so different from how a student dances.
“I”m totally excited to see her perform, and it is a great opportunity to see what the faculty does,” she said. “When you see them perform you are more confident in their ability to teach, and you have something to aspire to.”
The dances range from musical theater to modern, though the emphasis is modern, Creer-King said.
She is dancing in a modern piece by Julie Ahlander, part-time faculty in the modern dance division.
“As a ballet dancer, it is so wonderful to work with her creative process, which is very different than how I would create a piece,” she said. “We are developing our own artistic development by looking at a new way to move.”
Rebecca Phillips, a member of the modern dance faculty has two pieces in the concert. Though she does choreograph for the Young Ambassadors and the Dancers” Company, a lot of the other dance faculty does not have the same opportunity, she said.
“The faculty concert is a chance for us to do whatever we want because we know the piece doesn”t have to tour,” she said. “It is a chance for us to explore, share each other”s works and get feedback from each other.”
Her piece “Except Ye Become” is based on the journey towards becoming childlike again and recapturing qualities we possessed as children, such as playfulness, risk, imagination and creativity, Phillips said.
Her other piece is a humorous interpretation of the Viennese Waltz that uses scooters and inflatable women.
Creer-King also said the concert is a great opportunity to work with faculty members in different departments.
“I”ve gotten to know part-time faculty that I never would have run into as director of the ballet company,” Creer-King said. “It builds camaraderie in a faculty that is so diverse and allows us to express to an audience why we have a passion for dance.”
The faculty dance concert is a free admission performance in 166 RB at 7:30.
“We just want to share our love for dance,” Creer-King said.
