Tuesday, November 26, 2013

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


Sunday, November 24, 2013

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

Friday, November 22, 2013

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

Tuesday, November 19, 2013

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


Monday, November 18, 2013

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