The Lovely Deanna

Deanna came to ACC from high school without a decided major. She chose dance because of its facilitation of self-expression. “I did drill team in high school. You do the routines, smile, and that’s it. It’s different here. This is creative, you can be expressive,” she said.

Jennifer is on the left and Deanna is on the right. 

Her piece didn't start out as a duet. Deanna was originally inspired by an in-class exercise that used a piece of art to create a movement phrase. The image was a goddess-like statue staring up at the sky. “The theme of moonchild got in my head,” she said about her reaction to the artwork. It wasn't until Deanna incorporated aspects from her own life that she discovered an intention that worked well for a duet dance.

Jennifer and the shadows

The biggest challenge for her was generating enough movement to compliment the songs she had picked. The creation of her piece felt more like homework this semester than a creative process. “I was staying up until 4 in the morning thinking it’s due tomorrow,” she said about her state of mind. She laughed as she admitted that it wasn't the greatest approach. But in the end, as she puts it, “it all fell together.”

Her favorite style of dance is Ballet. “It feels really comfortable. Some people are good at running, I know what feels right,” she says about the technique involved in Ballet.

What makes her dance? “It’s just natural,” she said. She’s undecided about the future but she knows one thing, “I just want to keep dancing.”

Come see her and many other dancers in the Informance tomorrow night, the 12^th, at 7 PM in the dance studio, Room 130 in Rio Grande’s Main Building. Hope to see you there!

Pictures by Anne Wharton

Presenting David

David came to ACC after 6 years in the army. He had danced on and off before joining up, so when he got out, he decided to pursue a Dance Associates. He discovered modern dance at ACC with Catherine Solaas and Allison Orr. As David puts it, “I fell in love with modern here.”

Hien's on the left and David's on the right.

David’s piece, “The Crickets Cry”, was based on a personal loss he experienced. He wanted to share those feelings through his piece. “The dance has to do with calling for loved ones whether during good times, tragedy, or bad times,” he said. He crafted his piece with the concept of his dancers embodying the different events involved in the loss of a loved one.

David's incredible last pose

Although David’s idea for his piece dramatically changed over the course of the semester, David was satisfied with the final composition. “I got a great group of dancers. They were easy to work with and we had great moments of improv,” he said. The piece includes some beautiful contact movement inspired from these points of improvisation.

Steven and David helping Hien fly. 

Dick Van Dyke is David’s favorite dancer. Movies like Mary Poppins and Chitty Chitty Bang Bang inspired David to take up dancing in the first place. David remembers, “I would rewind the scene in Chitty Chitty Bang Bang with “the old bamboo” over and over again to watch Dick Van Dyke dance.”

David’s inspiration for dancing was influenced by several jobs he had working around kids. He’s been on Barney, and worked at Disney World as Pluto as well as the Cookie Monster at Sea World in San Antonio. He said, “When the kids see someone dancing or they dance there’s so much joy in them. That’s what I like to show.”

David mid-dance. 

If you didn't get to see David’s piece last night, tonight is your last chance to him along with many other incredible dancers. 8PM at the Rio Grande Campus on the Main stage on the second floor – you know you want to be there!

Pictures by Anne Wharton

A Sneak Peek of Steven

Steven was first introduced to ACC as a foster kid during a promotional tour. He explained that enrollment in college is very rare for young adults coming out of foster care, so ACC tries to encourage higher education with these tours. Steven fell in love with the small community at ACC because it felt like a family to him.

Steven onstage. 

For Steven’s solo, he was inspired by the connection between music and dance; especially the image of a hip-hop artist and a boom box. A huge fan of Step Up 3, Steven used the quote “born from a boom box” to create a character for his dance. His choreography also has moments of improvisation so each night will have something special.

The biggest challenge Steven had to overcome was not settling for familiarity in his dance vocabulary. Steven said, “I’m known for doing hip-hip and most colleges don’t usually have a lot of hip-hop. So I wanted to bring that to the stage but not disappoint my instructors either.” He pushed himself to try new contemporary movements which were slower and more sustained than his preferred hip-hop technique.

Steven’s favorite dancer is Adam Sevani who is most famous for his role of “Moose” in the Step Up movies. Sevani inspired Steven to find his love for entertainment.

What drives Steven to dance? “Giving joy to people,” he said. “I like to dance in the streets of Austin sometimes just to get people to smile. For me, being a dancer is about making people smile.” 

Our show opens Friday night at 8PM - you don't want to miss it!

Pictures by Anne Wharton

Learning about Libby

Libby is a dance major at ACC who wants to earn her Bachelors in Dance from Texas Women’s University. She dreams of being a choreographer but has another calling as well. After she had to leave home at 14, Libby lived with a family who had a boy with Down syndrome. She discovered a passion for helping these children as she drew close to her new brother. “I would love to open a studio for Down syndrome kids,” she says. Touched by the social isolation that these kids experience, Libby was inspired to create a safe place that would provide them the communal activity they usually miss out on.

Two of Libby's dancers in rehearsal: Kaorra and Lizz.

Never one to shy away from hard concepts, Libby’s piece revolves around a pervasive issue within dance communities: anorexia. “I was inspired because my friend suffers from anorexia, and this is such a big issue for dance too,” she said. Her movement was directly influenced by pictures and documentaries on the subject of anorexia. She spent time researching the manifestation of the disorder in the way people present themselves. "These girls can't even look at themselves," she said about one common mannerism among sufferers of anorexia. 

Libby's full cast of dancers: Lizz, Kaorra, Steven, and La Tiya.

Libby had her dancers watch a documentary in order to embody the emotions of someone suffering from the disorder. One of the challenges Libby had as a choreographer was helping her dancers relate to the disorder in order to portray it. As Libby pointed out, it can be really hard to relate to something like this if you've never experienced it before.  

Steven and Kaorra

Libby’s favorite movement style is the combination of Ballet and Modern. She likes the innovation of modern as well as the technical lines of ballet.

What inspires her to dance? “When I’m onstage it’s not me anymore. I had a tough childhood and dancing takes me out of reality. It’s not about my life anymore.” 

Libby watching her dancers from offstage. 

Want to know who's in what show? 

This Friday and Saturday at 8PM on the Mainstage at Rio Grande: Megan, Libby, Anne (that's me!), Kaorra, Roman, Sarah, Jenny, Heather, David, Lindsey, and Steven will be presenting their own choreography along with two faculty pieces from Catherine Solaas and Darla Johnson.

More Info

Thursday the 12th at 7PM in the Rio Grande Dance Studio: Hien, Lizz, Colleen, Frannie,     La Tiya, Amanda, Jennifer, Rex, Deanna, and Sean will be showing their choreography. 

Don't know who all the dancers are? Keep reading and come to the shows!!

Pictures by Anne Wharton

An Introduction to Roman

Roman is more than just an ACC student. He’s a professional dancer in the Austin community, a teacher’s assistant in the dance department, and a role model for dance majors. He holds a Bachelors in Dance Studies from Texas State and is working towards his Masters in Dance. For right now though, he’s doing what he loves – dancing and teaching!

Teaching moment with his soloist, Lindsey.

“The idea for my dance came from reality - art imitating reality,” he said. He’s especially interested in “mean time” as he calls it. The little moments of resolution or the small provocations that cause the larger events in life. His solo also explores relationships. “I was looking at the idea of relationships with someone or a thing or an event. What happens when you're going through that?”

Initially, Roman had been planning on creating a group piece. But circumstances limited him to a solo. “It was a good challenge for me to explore other ideas and concepts,” he said. Both in choreography and life, he prefers to see opportunities instead of upset plans. His original plan to pursue a degree in Psychology and Counseling was upset by his desire to explore dance. It became an amazing opportunity for him. The encouragement from ACC dance teachers, Darla Johnson and Allison Orr, touched him at a time when he was struggling to discover what he was good at. “Hearing someone say that you can do this and do it well, it made me want to prove something.” This motivation helped him transition into being a successful college student and an incredible dancer. 

Watching his choreography come to life. 

Roman’s favorite choreographer is Pina Bausch. “I love her movement invention,” he said. He appreciates her fearlessness to touch "uncomfortable subjects" and to explore movement outside of the "pretty art" box.

Inspiration to dance? Roman took a moment to think before saying, “It used to be music, that was my first inspiration. But now it's interest in something or inquiry; inquiry about life, the body, and space and time.” 

Don’t miss the chance to see Roman in Kathy Dunn Hamrick’s upcoming show: http://www.kdhdance.com/Upcoming-performances/.  
Pictures by Anne Wharton

The Fabulous Hien Nguyen

Hien Nguyen came to ACC after a year at UTSA. She describes her first experience at ACC as “jumping from class to class like I was shopping – trying to find the right fit.” After her first dance class last year, Dance Improvisation with Catherine Solaas, she finally felt at home. Hien has plans to earn her Bachelors in Dance after graduating from ACC with her Associates in Dance.

That's David holding Hien

Hien’s piece focuses on a social issue that has touched many people. “I wanted to explore the idea of bullying within the structure of friendship.” Hien did some research into the two manifestations of bullying; specifically aggression and manipulation. Her next step after research was creating movement. “I came up with a motif and went with it.”

For her, the hardest part of the process was piecing together the different movements “to tell the story”. As a versatile artist, the actual creative process was the fun part. The thrill of creating something, whether through writing or painting or choreographing, is the true attraction of the arts for Hien. This love for “creativity and art” is what first drew her to dance.

Hien, David, and Lizz mid-dance!

Two of Hien’s favorite choreographers are Steve Paxton and Lar Lubovitch. She loves the pedestrian nature of Paxton’s work and the excitement of his improvisation. As far as Lubovitch is concerned, “Oh my gosh!” She’s completely mesmerized by his diverse style of movement. Hien was one of several ACC students, myself included, who had the chance to see Lar Lubovitch’s company live in Austin last month – best field trip ever!

Things that inspire Hien to dance? “People watching.” When she sees people walk by, she loves to visualize dancers moving along with them.

Just a little Saturday morning cardio.

Hope everyone has a restful weekend - last week before tech week starts now! 

Pictures by Anne Wharton

Meet Heather Moran

Heather Moran is an incredible dancer who actually came to ACC to join the nursing program. After a single Ballet class, she realized she needed to switch programs. She’s currently working on her Associates of Dance at ACC with hopes to travel to Europe to earn her Bachelors in Dance.

A Peaceful Heather

Her piece was initially influenced by an in-class exercise that had students improv movement to poetry that was read out loud. "I had a poem about where prayers go which really stuck with me because I'm not connected to any religion." As she worked through the process in her own life of self-awareness and the ability to forgive the past, she found these concepts showing up in her piece. She also drew inspiration from a quote from her favorite TV show, “We’re all stories in the end – make it a good one.” 

This is Sarah - one of the dancers in Heather's piece.

The hardest part of the process for her? “Not getting stuck in routines." In order to break out of these patterns, she and her dancers used improv to generate a fresh vocabulary for her piece. As Heather puts it, "we basically had play days to find movement we loved.” 

Heather’s favorite style of dance is contemporary because of its expressive qualities. 

When I asked her what inspired her to dance? “Everything! Eating – I have a happy dance. My dogs – I dance with my dogs!”

As a side note, all student pieces have officially auditioned for the showcase. As soon as I find out who will be performing on the Main Stage at Rio Grande on the 6th and 7th of December and who will be performing in the studio on the 12th of December, I'll let you know.  

Pictures by Anne Wharton

All About Megan!

Megan is one of my fabulous classmates in Darla Johnson’s Choreography class. She came to ACC straight out of high school. Her plans for the future are a little up in the air but, “for now”, she’s considering Biology as her major at either Concordia or UT. 

Dance will always be a part of her life though. “I will make it happen,” she said smiling, “I have to have it in my life.”

That's Megan on the right and Lindsey's on the left.

Her dance was created with the movement coming first and the idea second. “Move first is how I kinda do things.” She and her duet partner, the gorgeous Lindsey, began to explore the relationship between sisters as the piece developed. Megan has a younger sister and Lindsey an older sister. The dancers would come up with movement depending on how they felt that day; “the movements just kinda spoke to me.”

This is Megan’s first duet. “It was a really fun process. I love working with different people.” She enjoyed finding a new dance vocabulary for her piece that was a collaboration between her and Lindsey. They both have unique styles and different backgrounds, so she was excited to create something new for both of them that they shared.

I love the hands, don't you?

Megan finds inspiration in music, especially soul jazz and the blues (think Billie Holiday) and watching others dance. One of her favorite choreographers is Mia Michaels because she loves Michaels’s unique way of incorporating props into dances.

Soon to come: more dancers, more pictures, and more fun!

Pictures by Anne Wharton

Welcome to ACC's Dance Blog

Welcome to Austin Community College Dance Department's blog! 

I'm Anne and I've been a dance student at ACC for almost two years now.

That's me upside down - typical dancer!

We’re all crazy busy getting ready for our semester end showcase, December  6th and 7th, which will feature student and faculty pieces. Over the next few weeks I’ll be doing interviews with fellow classmates, and maybe some faculty, about how they craft their dances. Where do the ideas come from? How do you move that idea from your head onto a dancer? 

Want to know what inspires your classmates, your students, your community? Read on!


Picture by Emily Hester