Emerging Choreographers Concert will feature innovative works on video by Wright State dance majors

Seniors and juniors in the Wright State University Dance Program will premiere 15 original choreographic works during the Emerging Choreographers Concert 2021 on YouTube.

The concert will feature works specifically created for video and presented in an evening-length film on the Dance Ensemble YouTube channel from 7 p.m. on Feb. 26 until 11:59 p.m. on March 7.

Viewers can watch the Emerging Choreographers Concert for free, although donations to the Dance Student Fund will be accepted online.

Each work presented during the concert represents the unique choreographic voice every dance major begins to develop in Choreography I and II courses. For seniors, the Emerging Choreographers Concert serves as the presentation of their thesis project and a culmination of their choreographic studies at Wright State. For juniors, the concert is the opportunity to showcase their first explorations in mature choreography.

The concert will feature seniors Hannah Bond, Emma Courtney, Breah Duschl, Meredith Erickson, Nicole Fredette, Kailey Hackathorne, Jillian Krekel, KC Lyphout, Willa Marks and Jeannie Sincic; and juniors Courtney Draper, Rachael Hayes, Bethaney Latessa, Marlyna Orebaugh and Megan Steinberger.

This year, the emerging choreographers were tasked with safety parameters that challenged them to think critically and creatively. The result is an engaging array of short dance films that are diverse in literal and metaphorical perspectives, choreographic styles and unique artistry.

The Emerging Choreographers Concert will feature works created for video and presented in an evening-length film on YouTube from Feb. 26 to March 7. (Video by Kris Sproles)

Although the dancers had to work with many limitations, the 2021 concert also presented them with opportunities to do something they wouldn’t normally get to do, including filming their dance pieces in environments outside the dance studio, said KC Lyphout, a senior dance major.

“It adds an exciting element and you can change the whole vibe, you can change the whole feel of a piece,” Lyphout said. “It’s immersive. It’s not what people are used to seeing in dance.”

The Emerging Choreographers Concert 2021 will be unlike any concert the Dance Program has ever presented.

“These artists have embraced the challenges and propelled themselves and their dancers forward in ways that are inspiring and visionary, truly original in thought, movement and design,” said Teressa McWilliams, professor and head of the Dance Program. “This ECC will be one they always remember with a certain sense of creative pride.”

Joe Deer, artistic director and chair of the Department of Theatre, Dance and Motion Pictures, said the students have come up with exciting and unique responses to the challenges of distance, safety and performance.

“I feel as if they’re really inventing a new approach to creating dances. In years to come, they’ll look back on this and recognize how much they got out of this unpredictable time,” Deer said.