By HANNA HAMBLEN
STAFF WRITER
Every semester St. Lawrence offers a ballet class and a modern dance class. Students are able to enroll in the classes without any dance experience, and at the end of the semester they perform in a dance concert to showcase their skills. Molly Haskell and Carli Baldwin, a senior and a junior respectively, met with me separately to discuss their personal experiences in the two classes.
Tell me a little bit about the dance performance in general.
The performance happens twice a year, in the spring and the fall. This semester there are 9 dances on the program, so it should last a little over an hour. The performers are the members of the modern dance class, who perform three pieces, and the ballet class, who perform two. Then there are two senior students who choreographed their own dances for their SYE’s, and a trio of three girls, who choreographed their own piece, as well. Carrie, our instructor, will do a dance. The program starts and ends with very powerful songs, and we have a lot of cool props! There’s a smoke machine, a chandelier, and fake snow.
Do you have a dance background?
Molly: No, this was just for my AEX credit. I was a competitive cheerleader so I’m not scared of preforming in front of people, but that’s about it.
Carli: I danced when I was younger and quit. For a few summers I participated in dance workshops at SUNY Potsdam, put on by the Rebecca Crane ballet company. But I would say I was a blank slate going into the class.
What can you tell me about your performances specifically?
Molly: I am in two performances. In the first, which is to a dub-step song called Into the Flames, there is a lot of jumping with flame themed costumes. The other dance is the classic Christmas piece. We are dressed in white with tiaras.
Carli: We will be performing three pieces, two of which were choreographed by our professor, Carrie Kennedy. The other was an exploration of movement and strength, meant to channel the natural way our bodies move. It is an experimental piece that began as a warm-up activity, which was eventually compiled by Carrie. Our first piece is a masquerade theme, which is meant to portray an off-kilter, weird renaissance party. We are meant to be coming down from the effects of 24-hours of partying. It is supposed to look sexual and off-kilter; I’m wearing a corset. In the second, the composition piece, we are using the leftover lanterns from the art piece, which is currently in the art gallery. The third piece is fast paced, and our costumes will be a wonderful surprise!
Tell me about the learning process.
Molly: We started with choreography the third week of class, and learned each song piece by piece. Our professor does all the choreography. We have been practicing our entire performance for about three weeks now. Thanksgiving screwed us up a bit because we forget to stretch and practice!
Carli: Throughout the semester we put together each piece. For example, Mondays and Wednesdays we would work on our masquerade piece, and Tuesdays and Thursdays we focused on our faster paced dance. The composition lab was just thrown together. We thought we were just doing warm-ups until Carrie told us otherwise!
How do you feel about the opportunity to preform, and afterwards, what do you think you will you take away from this entire experience?
Molly: I am very excited to preform! I especially love the props and the costumes. It has been a lot of work, but I consider it worth it. And the dance practice has made me more flexible.
Carli: I am a little nervous, because I haven’t danced in a very long time. But I’m more excited, and hoping that everything goes smoothly. I am more flexible and strong after taking modern dance. The professor is wonderful; she is so strong and powerful as a woman. I highly recommend taking a dance class. I am significantly more fit, happy, confident, and flexible after this experience.
The dance show this weekend sounds like an excellent portrayal of our student’s skills, with diverse, engaging song choices, and elaborate costumes and props. Come to the show this weekend to see both the students, and their professor, perform a myriad of dance pieces. Thursday is the preview show, when the dancers are able to stop the show to address any problems. You don’t need tickets to attend, but the dancers will be inviting people. The official performances take place at 7pm, on both Friday and Saturday. The tickets are free but required, because there are limited seats. They sell out quickly! You can acquire them at the box office, which is open 1-5pm until Friday. I don’t know about you but I just bought my tickets, and I can’t wait to see the show!