With energy and fluidity, dance is brought to life through timeless movements, but also through new images and media.
The Texas A&M dance program will present its second night of dance performances Friday for its annual show, Perpetual Motion. A mix of 16 classic ballet and modern pieces, the show gives students an opportunity to showcase their talent and skill.
Christine Bergeron, director of dance programs and initiatives, said this particular performance is their biggest of the year, with primarily faculty and guest choreographies.
The dances presented will feature classic works like Copp?lia, Don Quixote, Cinderella and The Firebird, but will also incorporate different media and technology, which Bergeron said is an aspect of performance that is growing in the dance field. She said one of the students produced a video featuring the Corps of Cadets movements to play in the background as a motif for the dance.
“She used their movements that they already do kind of in their daily regiment and she choreographed based on their movements,” Bergeron said. “So now what she’s done with that dance is she took it outside and in various places, she worked with this student in the VizLab and they videoed it and they edited it.”
Annie Forman, junior kinesiology and dance sciences major, said the Corps of Cadets performance is one of her favorites because of what it represents.
“It’s a very strong piece,” Forman said. “All of the movements represent everything [the Corps of Cadets does] so it’s very strong.”
Kathy Quigley, junior dance science and math major and student choreographer, said incorporating media into the performances was a way to present new ideas.
“I think that a dance that can incorporate technology into it really brings dance into the next level and into the times because dance has been an art for so long so we move and we integrate with the times of social commentary,” Quigley said.
Perpetual Motion puts a spotlight on the dance sciences program that the general student population may not be aware of, Bergeron said. She said what makes the program unique is the merging of the arts and sciences that A&M has to offer.
“Dance sciences is relatively new to the U.S.,” Bergeron said. “We are probably one of two, now, degrees in the United States that offers a degree in dance science. So it’s much more popular in the U.K., but it’s slowly kind of building here, so I feel like we’re kind of in front of the trend.”
Bergeron said the show allows her to see the dancers’ growth throughout their time at A&M.
“Watching a student come in as a freshman and just to see where the student has gone is just a major transformation and they recognize it by the time they leave here too,” Bergeron said. “It’s nice to see kind of how they recognize where they have come from in the four years they have been here.”
Evelyn Fontana, senior health and kinesiology major, said the show gives the audience an opportunity to “look inside a dancer’s mind.” Fontana’s choreography, titled “Rays of Road,” will be showcased by five dancers during Friday’s performance and at the American College Dance Festival.
“I just love the aspect of performing because this is something I am passionate about and want to dedicate my life to and dedicate this as a career,” Fontana said. “I just love getting to share this with my friends and family and those in the community and see why I believe in this so much.”
Perpetual Motion will be at 7:30 p.m. Friday and Saturday and at 3 p.m. Saturday and Sunday in Room 207 of the Physical Education Activity Program Building. Student admission is $6 and general and senior admission is $10.