Dance minors presenting choreography showcase April 25-27

Dance minors who are enrolled in the Choreography course will present a student choreography showcase April 25-27 in the Megley Theatre. Performances will be held at 8 p.m. Thursday and Friday and 3 p.m. Saturday, with admission prices set at $3 for Salve Regina students and $5 for all others.

“This is our first time putting student choreography on stage outside of the Extensions Dance Company,” said Lindsay Guarino, assistant professor of dance. “A lot of dance minors aren’t in Extensions but still have the talent to put their work on a stage, and I always felt like they were getting lost in the shuffle.”

The showcase will feature choreography from Alyssa Batchelder ’14, Cayley Christoforou ’15, Elizabeth Franson ’15, Danni Gionet ’13, Rachel Koehler ’13, Alli Montecillo ’14, Courtney Randall ’13, Emily Sulock ’12, Kayla Tolman ’15, Tatiana Trapani ’15 and Kelsey Trovato ’13.

Guarino said the showcase is allowing each student choreographer to express her own artistic voice. “Every student has a real connection to her work,” she said. “They are making a lot of discoveries in the process, learning a lot about themselves and who they are outside of just being a dancer.”

Dance minor Casey Sheehan ’14 will perform in the piece set by Batchelder, along with two other dancers. “I’ve never been in one of her pieces,” he said. “It’s interesting to see her passion and cool to see her express her feelings and ideas through movement.”

Last month, eight of the University’s dance minors further honed their skills while attending the American College Dance Festival, held during spring break. The annual festival allows students to take classes, perform pieces at adjudicated concerts and receive feedback from nationally known choreographers.

Salve Regina students who attended the festival took classes in modern, hip hop, jazz, African and belly dancing and performed a piece called “Inferno,” set by guest choreographer Teal Darkenwald. In addition, Randall set a piece that was performed by the students, and Tolman performed in an informal concert with another student.

While most schools at the festival offer robust dance majors, “we don’t come off as a minor company,” Tolman said. “We project ourselves with confidence in the classes. It’s such a good experience to be able to work with other dancers and see what they have to offer being a dance major.”