Wright State dance students to premiere original works at Emerging Choreographers Concert Feb. 14–16

The Emerging Choreographers Concert on Feb. 14–16 will feature new choreographic works from 15 Wright State dance students that push the boundaries of creativity and artistic expression.

Juniors and seniors in the Wright State University Dance Ensemble will premiere original choreographic works during the annual Emerging Choreographers Concert. 

Performances will take place Friday, Feb. 14, and Saturday, Feb. 15, at 7 p.m. and Sunday, Feb. 16, at 2 p.m. in DanceSpace 170 in the Creative Arts Center. 

The Emerging Choreographers Concert is free. A $5 donation is suggested to support future student productions. 

The concert will feature new choreographic works from 15 students that push the boundaries of creativity and artistic expression. Each piece represents the unique choreographic voice dance majors begin to develop in choreography courses as part of Wright State’s Bachelor of Fine Arts in Dance curriculum. 

For junior dance majors, the concert is an opportunity to showcase their first explorations in mature choreography. For seniors, the concert serves as the presentation of their thesis project and a culmination of their choreographic studies at Wright State.  

“These students are extremely creative and thoughtful artists. They possess a diverse range of choreographic voices and movement styles,” said Gina Walther, associate professor and head of dance. 

Kailey Colyer, a junior dance major, said she loves the freedom that choreography offers.  

“Choreographing allows for individuality to shine through, and it creates a space to play and make something that has never been seen before, which I have always found to be quite amazing,” Colyer said. “It can be a bit nerve-wracking having an audience view a piece that you have created because it is so personal to yourself, but over time once other elements start to fall into place, such as costumes, lighting and staging, showing your work starts to become more exciting than anything else.” 

Colyer is one of the dance students helping produce the concert, allowing her to learn what it takes to put on a dance performance.  

“As dancers and performers, we are sometimes blind to what happens outside of the dancing itself, but over the past few months I have learned the importance of every little step taken beyond the stage,” she said. 

The Emerging Choreographers Concert will feature choreography by seniors Ariana Alvarado, Zoe Bees, Brianna Chan, Jonathan Foster, Gracie Harper and Alexis Wilson, and juniors Kailey Colyer, Alia Dalton, Jessie Etling, Carly Hanson, Audrey Lee, Emma McCaslin, Hannah McGuffey, Samantha Minneman and Jenna Mumford.