A class on imagination and curiosity

Composition students from fall 2015: Caitlin Austin and Joel Davila

There’s something powerful about making your own movement, giving into your curiosity and seeing just how far your imagination can take you. 

Last year, Professor Catherine Solaas encouraged her composition students to let the choreography process take them beyond technique, challenging them to find their own meaning of dance. Creating a supportive environment in the dance studio, Catherine helped students use movement to showcase their unique identities, thoughts and experiences.

Caitlin Austin in rehearsal.

“Stillness is really important,” Caitlin Austin said about her choreography process, “the world is crazy and hectic, and you need to come back to stillness, to find balance.” Austin’s solo was inspired by a 10-day silent meditation she participated in that semester. Working with in class assignments, written reflections and feedback from classmates and Professor Solaas, Austin created a solo showcasing “the role of stillness in life.”

Joel Davila also responded to in class assignments and feedback during his process. Using personal writings to find inspiration for his choreography, he summed up the semester-long process as a “manifestations of thoughts.” 

Professor Catherine Solaas is teaching her Introduction to Composition class again this fall. Welcoming beginner and advanced students, she’s looking forward to tailoring the class to fit everyone’s individual level; whether it’s a first time choreographer or an advanced student wanting to dive into a new choreographic genre or medium. 

Introduction to Composition is a class that opens up space for the kind of artistic exploration that allows dancers to nourish their aesthetic and discover how to engage through movement. In December, the explorations of the semester will be collected, polished and presented to the public for the Fall Choreographers’ Showcase. 

Joel Davila in rehearsal.

Join Catherine on Mondays and Wednesday from 12:30 – 2:15 pm in the Rio Grande Campus Dance Studio. Let your imagination take over this fall and give in to your curiosity!

Apply online and register for Introduction to Dance Composition: DANC 1101 Section 08924. 

For questions or more information, email Catherine Solaas at csolaas@austincc.edu.

Photos by Anne Wharton.

Transpositions

Visit the Facebook event page for more information or call 512.223.3352.

One of our own is coming home!

Melissa Watt - ACC's newest dance professor!

“Anything is dance - it doesn’t have to be a perfect ballet or a perfect modern piece. You can be a creator. You can be a choreographer, whether you think you can or not. It just takes the willingness to experiment and play.” - Melissa Watt

Former ACC dance student Melissa Watt is returning to the Rio Grande Campus to teach the dance performance workshop class this summer.

Between her undergrad at North Texas University and earning her Masters in Dance at Texas Woman’s University, Melissa dove into classes at ACC. She studied under Allison Orr, took ballet from Kathy Dunn Hamrick, learned Martha Graham repertory from Jessica Coxe, and fell in love with Darla Johnson’s pedagogy.

“I just love the community aspect,” Melissa said. She fondly remembers Darla’s circled warm-ups and the immediate feeling of connection fostered in the studio.

Similar to Darla’s workshop classes, Melissa also values improvisation and highly encourages her students to collaborate with her during the choreography process. “I like non-traditional, kind of experimental dance,” Melissa said about her choreographic style.

Previous dance performance workshop performance by Darla Johnson. Photo by Anne Wharton.

She particularly enjoys a variety show format. At TWU, her final project brought together dance, talking, live music and projections. “It’s so engaging and fun, and it brings people of all different backgrounds together.  We can all watch this together and share laughs about whatever is going on,” Melissa said. She also loves the unpredictability of mixing up genres and mediums. “You never know what’s going to happen next - it’s a surprise!”

The summer dance informance this year is right up her alley. The informance has been transformed into a multidisciplinary showcase pulling together students and faculty from dance, music, drama, creative writing, RTF and visual art.

Dancers from Darla's previous summer dance piece. Photo by Anne Wharton.

Melissa’s class will focus on creating a dance piece to premiere in the August showcase. Whether the piece involves filming or jamming to live music, the only guarantee is you’ll be moving and having fun!

Registration is open now through July 29 for Melissa's class: DANC 1351 Syn 05384. Grab your spot today before the class fills and open your world to everything that dance can be!

Mark your calendars now for the showcase of the summer, August 11 and 12 at 8 pm; it's free and open to the public!

To dance with wild abandon

Joel Davila and Nedda Tehrany in Johnson's previous work.

By Anne Wharton

Austin Community College’s Spring 2016 Choreographers’ Showcase opens with brightly colored polka dots splashed behind twirling ribbons, gyrating hula hoops and delightful acrobatics. Darla Johnson’s newest work, Balter* Party Throw Down, is all color and blithesome movement. Her piece pulls the audience into an evening of exploration, comedy, narrative and abstract movement.

Ten ACC dance composition students premiere works ranging from Nico Locke’s postmodern cavort through faerie woodland to Ryan Parent’s contemporary exploration of constellations. Locke and Ryan are veteran choreographers on the Rio Grande Campus Mainstage Theater, but newcomers like Lillian Gerrity also add their voice to the evening. 

Lillian Gerrity lifting Lindsey Gerson in Johnson's previous work.

“It was an emotionally interesting process of starting, stopping and backtracking,” Gerrity says about her first time choreographing for the showcase. A former performer in Darla Johnson’s workshop class, Gerrity wanted to continue studying under Johnson and signed up for dance composition. “It grows you a lot when you have to be that emotionally vulnerable,” she says. “You have to channel your emotions through the need for technique and structure; creating something within a recognized art form. I came away with a better understand of how to do that,” she says.

Joel Davila also presents work for the first time on the Mainstage Theater for the showcase. His piece, A Look Inside, is a constant ebb and flow of contact, partnering and structured shapes. “I was never worried about the process,” he says. “I could go into rehearsals without a concrete idea and just ask the dancers to improvise while thinking about something or using specific tools, and then I would throw that into the dance.” 

Professor Roxy Gage setting the bow on the full cast for the spring 2016 showcase.

Improvisation is the equalizing factor for the dance department’s open-door policy. It allows technical dancers to mentor those with less experience while everyone explores and creates new patterns together. “There really is a lot of variation in dance experience,” Parent said about the dancers in his piece. “I worked with people who hadn’t done a lot of modern dance partnering before.” 

Choreographing at ACC allows Parent to mentor students while also challenging himself and others to grow. “You don’t want to do the things you already know how to do,” Parent says. The fun is finding out you can do things you didn’t know how to do. 

Nico Locke in a previously choreographed solo.

Locke’s challenge for the showcase was breaking away from his more serious work as a choreographer to try his hand at a lighter piece. His dance, Faeries are Love?, incorporates entrance bloopers, comedic sound effects, dialogue pointed at the audience, Shakespeare references and a smidgeon of singing. “People think modern and contemporary work is about angst or being serious. I wanted to challenge myself to create something that reflected my personality,” Locke says. 

And that’s the strength of the Austin Community College Spring 2016 Choreographers' Showcase – reflecting personality onstage. It’s a beautiful mesh of faeries, epic journeys, cheesy romance stories and cheeky adventures in Paris. But it’s also the tapestry of new dancers and experienced dancers coming together with open minds and the courage to be vulnerable together in the name of dance. 

*Balter: to dance with wild abandon.

For tickets and more information about the showcase, visit the ACC Dance Facebook Page.

Photos by Anne Wharton.

Four reasons to drop everything and dance at ACC

Nico Locke having a good day at ACC.

1. Bad mornings ruin good days.
The only thing standing between you and a bad day is Roxy’s Jazz Class. Get some sass in your step first thing in the morning and have yourself a good day. 
(Jazz Dance I DANC 1147, Tues/Thurs 8:50-10:10 am at the Rio Grande Campus).

2. It’s been two weeks and the gym is getting old.
Congrats for making it this far, but you know you’ll have more fun working out in a dance studio than lifting weights, right? Darla has you covered with her infamous warm-ups in Dance Performance. And bonus, you get to show off those new abs in the Choreographers’ Showcase at the end of the semester! 
(Introduction to Dance Performance DANC 1151, Mon/Wed 5:10-6:55 pm at the Rio Grande Campus).

3. You need a little more happy in your life, and who doesn’t?
Take Catherine’s composition class and find your happy zone while making dances. There’s scientific evidence that creativity is linked with happiness, even if you aren’t a dancer. So sign up for your slice of bliss and remember, 
science wants you to dance! 
(Introduction to Dance Composition DANC 1101, Mon/Wed 12:30-2:15 pm at the Rio Grande Campus).

Jill Lake accessing happiness through creativity - science is telling you to dance!

4. You need some dance parties to get you through the semester.
We hear you. There’s no room for stress in our improvisation classes. It’s a dance party waiting to happen, minus painful shoes or embarrassing moments where you trip over living room furniture. 
(Catherine’s Dance Improvisation I DANC 2145, Mon/Wed 10:40 am -12:25 pm and 
Darla’s Dance Improvisation II DANC 2146 Mon/Wed 7:00-8:45 pm at the Rio Grande Campus).

Pretty convincing reasons right? Now literally drop everything and register for class because Wednesday at 5:00 pm is the deadline.

See you in the studio!

See you in the studio for 2016!!

Meet Marilyn!

Marilyn Connelly dancing through her tech rehearsal.

Marilyn Connelly's first taste of ACC Dance was a workshop at her high school. She connected with Darla Johnson during The JUSTICE Project and officially began her adventure at ACC. Originally enrolling as an early college start student, Marilyn has since graduated high school and is taking her next step in the dance world by choreographing for ACC's Choreographers' Showcase.

How was choreographing at ACC different from your process in high school?
I've never choreographed like this before. It was a completely different way to generate work; different tools and techniques. I incorporated gestural movement. And I used poem phrases; we made works off of poems that classmates had written. I like words and enjoyed incorporating not only the words but the rhythms of the poems into movement. 

What inspired your piece Internal Trialogue?
The idea of internal dialogue; being by yourself, talking in your head. I've been thinking about words and speech in dance so I knew I wanted to incorporate them in my piece too.

Connecting with her dancers; left to right: Alyssa Canas, Marilyn Connelly and Lindsey Gerson.

What do you want the audience to take away from viewing your dance?
I want them to feel all the different facets and emotions in the piece. There are sweet emotions and sweet movements, but there's more going on. It's about all the different emotions in our brain. 

Marilyn premieres her work December 4 & 5 at 8:00 pm on the Mainstage at the Rio Grande Campus. For more information, visit the Choreographers' Showcase Facebook.


Photos by Anne Wharton.

Dawn's back at it!

By Anne Wharton

One of Dawn's soloists, Lindsey Gerson, in rehearsal.

There’s a homey feel in the ACC studio as Dawn Roberts watches her dancers take a stab at running her 

freshly choreographed piece. She shouts out musical cues as the dancers alternatively move in a group, 

solos and duets. No stranger to the Rio Grande dance studio, Dawn first began taking classes back in 2009. Taking 

breaks here and there as situations shifted, Dawn keeps finding her way back home.

Dawn watches her dancers in rehearsal. 

“It’s the atmosphere that Darla (dance faculty at ACC) provides,” Dawn explains, “you learn about who you are and 

discover your pathway to be an artist. It’s the only place I have to release my creative side.” ACC’s been lucky 

enough to have her present work on the stage several times before, and this semester she has a fresh 

piece to show for the Choreographers’ Showcase. 


“Initially I created a really literal piece about the systems in our lives: politics, religion, education,” Dawn 

says. She looked at the monotony and universalism that robs people of their individuality. “Why do we 

have to follow everyone else, is anyone even happy?” Dawn says reflecting on social systems. 

ACC dancer Lindsey Gerson is surrounded by dancers representing system followers.

Dawn created word banks summarizing her ideas and then asked her dances to come up with two 

movements that they associated with the systems she had listed. She kept adding layers of abstraction 

to allow the piece to develop away from her literal concept. “I let things collide together,” she says 

about structuring the phrases within the piece and setting the movement to music.  

One of the many gestures that Dawn built her piece upon.

This is Dawn’s first large ensemble piece so she had to tweak her process. Used to working within a 

heavily improvised structure that allowed her dancers to greatly contribute to the overall piece, she had 

to took a step back and provided more instruction to engage the group. “It was kind of scary,” she admits. 

But her process paid off and her dance took shape. “It’s about what feels right – when I see it I know it’s 

right.”   


Dawn’s choreography will be presented at the ACC Choreographers’ Showcase Dec. 4 & 5 at the Rio 

Grande Mainstage. Tickets on sale at the door: $10 general admission and $5 for students and 

seniors. 


Photos by Anne Wharton.

Congrats to Hien!

Hien Nguyen. Photo by Callan Muckleroy.

Congratulations to Hien Nguyen for recieving the Dance & Drama Scholarship!

Hien came to ACC four years ago after realizing pursuing an architectural degree at UTSA wasn't her dream. At ACC, she tried classes in American Sign Language and Creative Writing before finding her passion for dance.

She kept coming back to dance for "the at-home feeling," she said. "The community doesn't judge and everyone is open to new ideas."

Hien had never choreographed before ACC. In fact, she had never danced before taking Professor Catherine Solaas's improvisation class.

"Improv was my first dance family. We were like children on a playground," Hien said. "Then I did the summer workshop (Professor Darla Johnson's performance workshop class). I was looking at everyone like 'you're so much better than me.' But they helped me learn."

Hien Nguyen and Lindsey Gerson.
Photo by Callan Muckleroy.

Hien is looking forward to transferring to Texas State for her BFA in Dance. She's also interested in earning her teacher's certification. The Dance & Drama Scholarship has opened her world to a whole new future. "It gave me the financial security to stay in school," Hien said.

The Dance & Drama Scholarship is open to all dance and drama majors who meet the requirements. Applications for the spring are due December 1, 2015. Change your future and apply online today!

Ritual in Dance

The ACC Dance Department is hosting a free dance film night Thursday, October 8 at 6:00 pm in the Rio Grande Dance Studio, room 130. Julie Nathanieslz is curating an evening that will explore ritual in contemporary dance through documented performances and filmed projects. Anne Wharton will host the event.

Some of the artists featured may include post-modern choreographer Anna Halprin.

Legendary modern choreographer Martha Graham may be featured.

And other artists invoking the power of ritual through movement will be explored. Come discuss ritual and watch some fabulous dancing on Thursday, October 8 at 6:00 pm in the Rio Grande Dance Studio. 

Dance Film night is free and open to the public; you don't need a dance background to join in the fun!

Living Dance Museum

Former ACC dancer and current dance history professor at Texas State, Amanda McCorkle, described Dancestry to one of her classes as walking into a museum. Dancestry premiered at the Long Center in May and is playing again September 11-12 at the Patti Strickel Harrison Theatre at Texas State. 

The show provides Austin-area dancers with a priceless opportunity to see some of the most influential early modern dance works brought back to life. ACC dance faculty Jessica Lindberg Coxe is in the midst of it all with her breathtaking Loie Fuller reconstructions. 

Jessica during tech at the Long Center for Fuller's Lily of the Nile

Jessica first became interested in Fuller as an undergraduate at Southern Methodist University. Her dance history teacher briefly mentioned an actress turned dancer who changed theater history and influenced modern pioneers like Isadora Duncan. Frustrated that so little was known about such a major influence, Jessica found a passion she enjoys to this day. "Basically nothing existed and I wanted to see what inspired so many artists of all kinds," Jessica said. 

Fuller's Lily was originally performed in 1896. 

Her first reconstruction was Loie Fuller's Fire Dance at Ohio State University while completing her MFA in Dance Notation, Reconstruction and and Directing from Score. "I never chose the path of reconstruction. I always thought I would be a dancer and dance the works of Loie Fuller. Basically, it's her teaching me. She was giving me this material to work with and I breathed life into it," Jessica said. 

Dancestry is your chance to see Fuller's work; an opportunity no one had before Jessica was inspired in a dance history class as an undergrad. "Anytime you get to see something people saw over a 100 years ago, you learn something about yourself, about art form and about aesthetics. These pieces spoke to people a 100 years ago and they still resonate today." 

The lighting for Fuller's pieces are reconstructed by Megan Slayter. 

Dancestry also showcases work by early modern pioneers Isadora Duncan and Erick Hawkins. If you ever wanted a chance to see dance history come alive, check out the show. There are also several former ACC dancers performing. So come support your fellow dance mates and help preserve these early modern dance legacies!

Dancestry runs September 11-12 at the Patti Strickel Harrison Theatre. Tickets available online.


Photography by Anne Wharton.

Putting Stories Onstage

Last week, guest artist Ellen Bartel presented a piece at the ACC Dance Informance. For those of you who didn’t get a chance to catch the show, or maybe you just want to know more about what you saw, read on to learn about her piece, her process, and her performers!

Scott Roskilly on the left and Jude Hickey on the right during Nebraska Sky. Photo by Brian Drake.

“I really trust these guys as performers so there’s a minimal amount of choreography” - Ellen Bartel. 

Nebraska Sky was originally performed in May 2015 as part of Ellen’s evening concert You Ain’t Alone. The male duet that Jude Hickey and Scott Roskilly performed at ACC is part of what Ellen is calling “non-fiction dance;” taking autobiographical stories, like the story from Jude’s childhood, and presenting them to the audience through movement, images, music and sound. 

“I really trust these guys as performers so there’s a minimal amount of choreography,” Ellen said. One section of the piece, nicknamed “the wiping section,” is a structured improvisation between the couple. Jude describes it as “wiping the debris off from the day before stepping into the bedroom.” The section relies completely upon contact; the dancers remain physically connected throughout the duration of the section.

Unlike many other duets in the dance world, this couple isn’t just portraying a relationship onstage. Jude and Scott have actually been married for 16 years, “but don’t tell the county clerk,” they joke. “It was almost self-indulgent,” Jude said. Doing multiple shows a year keeps him from spending time with his husband, but Nebraska Sky gave him a different opportunity. “I’m doing art with, for and on him. It’s interesting and compelling,” Jude said. But Scott points out the challenge as well, “it’s hard not playing someone else because you can’t hide behind anything.” 

Scott Roskilly and Jude Hickey in Nebraska Sky. Photo by Brian Drake.

“It’s hard not playing someone else because you can’t hide behind anything.” - Scott Roskilly

The piece draws from their relationship but also focuses on a story from Jude’s childhood. “Ellen asked us to juxtapose the story with where we are now,” Jude said. The process involves not only Jude telling his story about a violent encounter with his father but Scott also tells the story in his own words as well. “It’s his story through my lense,” Scott explains. Scott struggled with recounting Jude’s story, “It’s not my story to tell; I don’t wear it,” he explains. But Ellen draws from both perspectives to create an audio track for her non-fiction work. She layers both stories together to create a narrative behind the performers' movement onstage.

Ellen’s presentation at ACC gives students an opportunity to view a new take on dance being created right here in Austin. “I want students to appreciate that’s it not all bells and whistles all the time,” Ellen said. She applauds ACC for being the place where dancers could be their “own person onstage.”  Ellen sums her work up as “nonfiction stories to be creative with.” But one of her performers, Jude, weighs in on her process as well: “Working with Ellen is low pressure - it’s a fun process without the pressure for an exact outcome. She doesn’t expect you to DO something.” From Jude’s perspective, Ellen gives her performers permission to perform work that “doesn’t have to be compelling.” Inevitably, the process then produces just that - compelling, creative, non-fiction dances. 

Former ACC Student Takes the Stage Again

ACC’s Dance Summer 2015 Informance on Tuesday, July 7 at the Rio Grande Campus brings together a mix of students and professionals, and some self-proclaimed professional students. 

Atticus in rehearsal at ACC.

Atticus Rodriguez started attending ACC classes around ’07. Originally from Corpus Christi, Atticus came to Austin with an established background in performing, competing and choreographing. “I liked Austin and I was looking for more performance opportunities,” Atticus said about his move to Austin. ACC gave him a place to network with other dancers in the Austin community and expand his knowledge of dance.

Atticus is presenting a solo, Now This is Fun, for the showcase. The piece is inspired from his daily routines; relaxing after work, listening to records, and screen printing. “There’s not a lot of communication in my pieces. It’s more about appreciation of an atheistic,” Atticus said about the concept behind his movement. 

His solo is significantly tied to his music choice, Depeche Mode. “It’s my ode to old school,” Atticus said about his solo. He recorded the music for his solo off a record, purposefully keeping in the sound effects of the vinyl version. With a background in DJaying, Atticus is strongly inspired by records, “my turntables are my instruments,” he said. 

Atticus during a run of his solo at ACC.

Now This is Fun showcases ’80 dance motifs including hair whips, axel and pencils turns and lots of energy. Atticus said he wanted the audience “to get a sense of what it was like back in the day. Everybody has a Flashdance piece and this is my Flashdance piece.” 

Atticus teaches, performs and directs locally with his dance company Vitality Exhale in addition to other projects. He also creates unique screen printed shirts, some of which can be found for sale locally at Movin’ Easy.




Photography by Anne Wharton.

Choreographing Friendship

Tuesday, July 7 at 7:00 the Rio Grande Campus Mainstage Theater will be home to Austin dance artists, ACC dance alumni and current ACC dance students. This free annual show provides a unique opportunity to view a broad spectrum of dance. From professionals to students to experimental works, the evening is unlike any other dance concert in Austin.

Current ACC dance students, Nico Locke and Hien Nguyen, are joining forces to present a new duet for the showcase. Recalling Companions came from Nico's concept of capturing the enduring nature of friendship. "Friendship is one of those beautiful things that life gives us that we don't have to pay for," Nico said.

Hien Nguyen during rehearsal for Recalling Companions.

The dancers' own friendship is flourishing as they work together on the piece. "Hien is my 'yes or no person,'" Nico said. "It's great having her eye - she helps out a lot," he says describing her contribution to creating transitions in the piece. "Hien and I work really well together even though we have completely different bodies,” Nico said. Hien also points out that the dancers have "different vocabularies" as well. But both dancers agree having different movement styles is actually a strength for the piece.

Nico wants the duet to accentuate movements that both dancers excel in performing, but he also wants the piece to connect with viewers. "I want the audience to see companionship. At the very end, we have this back-and-forth movement like a metronome," Nico said. He explained that the final swaying is his way to represent the everlasting nature of friendship; your friends are always there to lean on.

Nico Locke and Hien Nguyen working their unison phrase in rehearsal.

The show is free and open to the public. For more information visit our Facebook event page.


Photography by Anne Wharton.

Dance History Front and Center

This weekend in the Rollins Studio at the Long Center you can see some of the most influential early modern dance works brought back to life. ACC dance faculty Jessica Lindberg Coxe is in the midst of it all with her breathtaking Loie Fuller reconstructions. 

Jessica during tech for Fuller's Lily of the Nile

Jessica first became interested in Fuller as an undergraduate at Southern Methodist University. Her dance history teacher briefly mentioned an actress turned dancer who changed theater history and influenced modern pioneers like Isadora Duncan. Frustrated that so little was known about such a major influence, Jessica found a passion she enjoys to this day. "Basically nothing existed and I wanted to see what inspired so many artists of all kinds," Jessica said. 

Fuller's Lily was originally performed in 1896. 

Her first reconstruction was Loie Fuller's Fire Dance at Ohio State University while completing her MFA in Dance Notation, Reconstruction and and Directing from Score. "I never chose the path of reconstruction. I always thought I would be a dancer and dance the works of Loie Fuller. Basically, it's her teaching me. She was giving me this material to work with and I breathed life into it," Jessica said. 

Dancestry is your chance to see Fuller's work; an opportunity no one had before Jessica was inspired in a dance history class as an undergrad. "Anytime you get to see something people saw over a 100 years ago, you learn something about yourself, about art form and about aesthetics. These pieces spoke to people 100 years ago and they still resonate today." 

The lighting for Fuller's pieces are reconstructed by Megan Slayter. 

Dancestry also showcases work by early modern pioneers Isadora Duncan and Erick Hawkins. If you ever wanted a chance to see dance history come alive, check out the show this weekend. There are also several former ACC students performing as well as working backstage. So come support your fellow dance mates and help these dance legacies live on!

Dancestry runs May 22 - 23 at the Long Center Rollins Studio. Tickets available online.



Photography by Anne Wharton.

Let it go to let it happen

Tonight is your last chance to see ACC dancers in action on the Mainstage at the Rio Grande Campus. The Choreographers' Showcase starts at 8 pm and features student and faculty work.

Hien Nguyen has presented several works as a student at ACC. Tonight will be the third time her choreography shines onstage.

Hien Nguyen, Nico Locke, Alyssa Canas, Ogaga Anuta

Hien's inspiration for her piece, Juxt A Position, came from several quotes including "life is really simple, but we insist on making it complicated" by Confucious. Her concept revolved around processing information, sifting through memories, and the constant back-and-forth of remembering.

How did you start putting your thoughts in movement?

It started with case studies in class during the semester, but it became a ting of its own. It just grew on its own. 

Alyssa Canas, Hien Nguyen, Nico Locke

There's a very architectural component to your piece with the shapes you make. How did you come up with the structure?

I had the inspiration before the semester started - I wasn't sure if it would stay through the semester but it did anyway. I worked with the case study and the movement; putting the idea and the phrases together was a challenge. I focused on the question "how does the brain process information?" So a lot of simple movement was repeated and retrograded; really working the movement characteristics. We repeated things over and over through different space and traveling.

What was one of the challenges you had to overcome in making this piece?

I have a bad case of control freak - I really wanted to listen to what my piece wanted to say. I had to listen and let it develop on its own versus "I want this, this, and that."

Full cast during dress rehearsal

What is a difference between your process for this piece and when you first started choreographing at ACC?

I had to let go of the uncontrollable; accepting it. I just went with things I hadn't intended. I didn't think of the diagonals in the beginning but it was like, "huh, ok!" I'm really happy with it in the end.

What's the one thing you want the audience to get from your piece?

That we are a community. Everyone's actions link to the next person in line.

Grab you ticket at the door tonight: $5 for students and seniors and $10 for general admission. For more information, visit our Facebook.

Photography by Anne Wharton. 

MEET ALYSSA

Our show opens tonight at 8 pm on the Mainstage at the Rio Grande Campus! Faculty works as well as student choreography will be presented in the Choreographers' Showcase.

Alyssa Cañas is choreographing for the ACC showcase for the very first time. Originally from Victoria, TX, Alyssa followed her family to Austin. She is currently pursuing her Associate of Arts in Dance and plans to transfer to a four-year university for a dance degree.

Alyssa supporting Dawn Roberts in a lift during dress rehearsal.

Have you choreographed before ACC?

I did some choreography for drill team but this is very different. I'm used to tricks and dance moves and Darla challenged me to really use movement. It was a good experience.

Did you have a concept for your piece?

Yeah, I kept going back to the journey that we have. People go through their lives and have all these moments and memories. Those moments become great memories and years later you finally look back... The piece is really about how fast life goes; so many people don't take the time to appreciate life. 

Alyssa during Only the Winds

You use a quote from American Beauty to describe your piece, how did you discover the quote?

Darla gave us an article (from the New York Times) about three weeks ago and I shared it with my sister. She wrote the quote on the article and I ended up sharing that with the class. 

How did you decide to do a duet?

Originally it was a trio, but you know, things happen. I actually always imagined it as a duet, but Darla wanted to challenge me to try it as a trio and then it turned out as a duet anyway.

Me and Dawn are individuals that go through life and meet in the middle. We could be best friends or complete strangers, but it's memorable. When you meet someone, you never forget them.

Dawn Roberts in Alyssa's Only the Winds

If you had one thing for the audience to takeaway, what would it be?

Realize how fast life is and take the time to breathe - appreciate life. 

Alyssa Cañas is one of seven students from Darla Johnson's Dance Composition class presenting new work at the Choreographers' Showcase. Join us tonight and tomorrow at 8 pm on the Mainstage at the Rio Grande Campus. Tickets available at the door; $5 for students and seniors and $10 for general admission. 

Photography by Anne Wharton.