Taking fresh approaches at SEMO dance concert

Hilary Peterson remembers affectionately the thrills and lively audiences at her own undergraduate student dance showcases. "Students were coming to support other students," she said. "They knew it would be exciting and fresh."

Those words describe the Fall Dance Concert Student Showcase opening tonight and continuing through Saturday at the Bedell Performance Hall on the River Campus. The styles range from Dana-Leigh Formon's contemporary classical ballet "A New Breed" to Kristin Diering's "Dear Mr. President, ..." modern dance choreographed to a Pink song with questions for the current leader of the free world. The program includes classical ballet set to Mozart, two tap numbers -- one purely a cappella -- and jazz and modern dance pieces.

One student choreographed a dance about accepting others and their differences. "A lot of it comes from the dancers' experiences from their own lives," said Peterson, the artistic coordinator. "They do things that are relevant to them."

From casting to costumes

The student choreographers are responsible for casting their piece and deciding on everything from music to costumes -- most come from the students' closets. They have one showing of the work halfway through the process, when members of the faculty give them feedback and make the final cut. Ten student dances were chosen from the 14 original works created. "We decided what pieces feel most ready to put on the stage," Peterson said. The other faculty choreography mentors are Philip Edgecombe, Lees Hummel and Marc Strauss.

Kristin Diering, front, and other Southeast Missouri State University students performed "Big Apple Cabaret," which was choreographed by Jessie Ladd, during a rehearsal Wednesday. (KIT DOYLE~ kdoyle@semissourian.com)

One of the dances, Jessie Ladd's quirky and funny "Big Apple Cabaret," is influenced by the "Triplets of Belleville," a 2003 animated film satirizing French and American stereotypes. Greg Pearson plays a bum. The dancers are Kristen Beaver, Kristin Diering, Stephen Fister, Dana-Leigh Formon, Jamison Gilliland, Desmond Gray, Laura Gremaud, Isaac Hester, Ashley Kern, Andrew Kruep, Kelsey Lulow and Blake Russell.

Formon describes "A New Breed" as "very tribal and animalistic." It is in her vision "a new breed of ballet. It pushes boundaries. There are no tutus, no tiaras. It's very wild." The heavily percussive music is by French composer Renee Aubry.

The dancers include Chelsie Colyer, Kaitlin Doughty, Kaitlyn Dowling, Mckenzie Gilliam, Jessie Ladd, Brie McDonald, Lauren Pickering and Michelle Rue.

"Dear Mr. President, ..." is based on simple movements. "What I wanted was movement to go with the emotion of the song," Diering said. Unlike some other choreographers on the program, she decided not to dance in her piece herself. "I wanted to put my movement onto other people to see how they move in their own way," she said.

The dancers are Lauren Benney, Michelle Boyd, Desmond Gray, Isaac Hester, Jeff Holtmeier, Ashley Kern, Jessie Ladd, Brook Rieger and Andrew Tebo.

Andrew Kruep, right, cracked up while dressing Wednesday evening as Blake Russell adjusted several ties before the rehearsal of the Fall Dance Concert Student Showcase.

Formon attended an arts high school in Wisconsin and said the prospect of participating in the birth of the new Holland School of Visual and Performing Arts played a part in her decision to pursue a BFA in dance at Southeast. "I fell in love with the campus and the people," the sophomore said. "I'm a real homebody, and a lot of the bigger campuses were too overwhelming." She also is working on a bachelor of science degree in premed.

Diering, a junior, was on her high school dance team in Florissant, Mo., and has been dancing since she was 3. Her fondness for Cape Girardeau and the atmosphere at the university along with the impending construction of the River Campus overcame parental objections to her attending the university. "Knowing that it was coming was a huge factor," she said. The junior also is pursing a BFA and hopes to find work with a dance company before entering a master's program.

Cassie Mora and Diering will dance together in Mora's a cappella tap dance titled "Coincidence." Formon and Mckenzie Gilliam perform solos from "Kitri Variations" from the classical ballet "Don Quixote."

A number of the choreographers chose love lost and found for themes. Rissa Crozier choreographed two modern pieces. "Enough" is a duet by Ashley Kern and Andrew Tebo, dancing to Regina Spektor's song "Ode to Divorce." Crozier choreographed herself, Diering and Formon dancing in "Crescendo and Chaos," set to Imogen Heap's "Leave Me to Love."

Michelle Boyd's "Back at Your Door" is based on the song of the same name by Maroon 5. The dancers are Boyd, Lauren Benney and Brie McDonald. James Blunt's song "Goodbye My Lover" inspired Brook Rieger's dance by that title. The dancers are Rieger, Andrew Kruep and Katie Middeke.

Desmond Gray, who portrayed Jim in the university's recent production of the musical "Big River," choreographed and dances in the finale, "Hopes to Come," with music by India. Arie. The other dancers are Janelle Alexander, Michelle Boyd, Rissa Crozier, JoLeen Davis, Kristin Diering, Stephen Fister, Dana-Leigh Formon, Mckenzie Gilliam, Laura Gremaud, Andrew Kruep, Jessie Ladd, Brie McDonald and Danielle Merritt-Sampson.

Faculty members Peterson and Edgecombe choreographed two of the works. Hers is "The End From Where You Are," a modern ballet set to the andante movement of Mozart's Piano Sonata in C major. His is "Love, Again," a duet danced by Jennica Joseph and Sarah Tochtrop to the Cole Porter tune "I'm in Love Again."

sblackwell@semissourian.com

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