Dance students prepare for final performance

By Liz deAvila

The University Department of Dance presents Studiodance II, a show featuring eight student-choreographed pieces, as its final event of the season tonight at 7:30 in the Studio Theater of the Krannert Center for Performing Arts.

John Toenjes, concert director for Studiodance II and a University dance professor, said the March auditions were open to all dance majors regardless of their year in school or area of concentration. A committee consisting of faculty and students chose the choreographers, who range from undergraduates to graduating master of fine arts candidates.

Toenjes said the performance is made up of different dance styles and artistic interpretations. He also said the span of ages and experiences among the choreographers provide the pieces with different points of view.

Toenjes described “Come to Nothing,” a solo choreographed and performed by Jye-Hwei Lin, junior in FAA, as a piece that is hard to explain.

“It’s sort of atmospheric,” Toenjes said, adding that there are rain sound effects in the song. “It’s a beautiful solo.”

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Toenjes also mentioned “Fruit Flows from Root,” a piece choreographed by Duane Cyrus, a visiting lecturer and a graduate student. Toenjes described Cyrus’s piece as “a sort of explanation of roots, where we all come from.”

“It’s exotic,” Toenjes said. “There are African masks onstage and video projections.”

Cyrus, one of the older choreographers, holds a bachelor’s degree of fine arts from The Julliard School in New York and has choreographed, performed and taught extensively throughout the United States, according to the event program.

“Fruit Flows from Root” features three male dancers, including Cyrus, and a vocal performance by University Professor Lisa Gaye Dixon. Cyrus said he enjoys “crossing boundaries,” a staple of his work, by adding voice to his piece and featuring the only non-dance major in the show.

“I also challenge artists to step out of the box of their normal or given training,” Cyrus said. “Doing things in an unconventional manner, all of that is very important to me.”

Cyrus said anyone planning on attending Studiodance II should be prepared to see communication of ideas without words.

“It may not be something you get automatically,” Cyrus said. “It’s a communication on a different level.”

Justin Jacobs, a graduate student, choreographed the opening piece of the show titled, “Never the Bride.”

“It’s an exploration and satire of five women fighting over a bridal bouquet through a humorous slant,” Jacobs said. “A farce.”

The original “Never the Bride” was created for a traveling theater troupe that went to elementary schools to perform for children. To prepare the piece for Studiodance II, Jacobs invested about five more hours revising the choreography, preparing the piece for a more mature audience.

“I had to make it more sophisticated,” Jacobs said, adding that he made the piece more abstract – an element he did not need in the original choreography.

Jacobs said he was excited that his piece is receiving a full theater production, complete with lighting, new costumes and better props. In terms of the overall show, Jacobs said it was “solid” and contained a spectrum of works, each wildly different from one another.

“This is cutting edge,” Jacobs said. “Young people creating work. It’s all new, which is exciting.”

He said Studiodance II was an inviting show, especially for those who may not be familiar with or attend many modern dance performances.

“I think this would be a good concert as a starter,” Jacobs said. “Modern dance can be a shocker.”