Jazzed

In a collection of performances that will feature student choreography and faculty musicians, the University Dancers presents Jazzed at their annual concert, Feb. 24-26.

The University Dancers, an audition-based dance company within the Department of Theatre and Dance, performs the annual concert as a part of the departmental season. The group comprises about 20 dancers — non-majors, majors and minors — who take several dance classes a week and are mentored by faculty members.

This year’s concert is a repertory concert, meaning the company will perform pieces by different choreographers under a broad theme, rather than one entire ballet. Myra Daleng, director of dance, and Anne Van Gelder, assistant director of dance and University Dancers artistic director, oversee the production.

“Many pieces in the concert draw from the jazz dance genre, although not all pieces are jazz,” says Van Gelder. “Some are modern, some tap. We thought the title Jazzed, as a broad, overarching theme, would be good since it speaks to jazz dance — but also because one of the definitions of jazzed is ‘to excite.’”

This year, the University Dancers’ annual concert comprises 12 pieces. Half are supported through the Tucker-Boatwright Grant, while the others are funded through the theatre and dance production budget and cultural affairs grants. The Tucker-Boatwright Grant brings authorities in the liberal arts to campus, and rotates among music, dance, theatre, museums, art, and literature.

Thanks to the grant, the dancers were able to work with choreographers from around the country, and three of the pieces in Jazzed will have live music accompaniment from the group Daniel Clark and Friends, which features UR music professor Mike Davison. Two student pieces are also featured in the concert — Keely Naughton, ’12, choreographed  “Revival,” and Katherine Nunziata, ’12, choreographed “Soror.”

Faculty members from different arts departments judged the student pieces, deciding which would make it into the Jazzed production. The panel included dance professor Alicia Diaz, theatre professor Maja White, and art professor Fiona Ross.

“I think a lot of the time people think that dance needs to be viewed or only understood by dancers, but of course dance is for everyone,” Van Gelder says. “We were thrilled to have different artists look at the pieces from their points of view. So, a dancer looks at the pieces, an artist, a sculpture, a lighting designer — it was a really a wonderful and fascinating process.”

The individual pieces in this year’s show are longer than in years past to allow the students to delve into their performances, Van Gelder says.

“It challenges the dancers,” she says. “Obviously the initial response will be a physical challenge since they would have to work on pieces that last longer, but it is also good for the choreographers because they can now develop their work further. And after all, if dance is communication then this will allow performer, choreographers and observers — in this case the audience — to really take a journey.”