Trailblazing Alumni Dance Concert

On Thurs., Jan. 26 and Fri., Jan. 27, the Department of Dance held the first ever TWU Alumni Dance Concert.

The concert, which was open to the public, featured works by Dance Alumni and coincided with MA and MFA auditions. Erika Record, Megan Odom, Big Rig, Terrance M. Johnson Dance Project, L. Brooke Schlecte, Karla Canamar and Jose Zamora CholoRock Dance Collective were the alumni who choreographed or performed the dances.

Associate Professor of Dance and Coordinator of MFA program, Jordan Fuchs, talked about the concert and what went into planning the first ever alumni dance concert here on campus: “We wanted to show off and celebrate the choreographic strength and diversity of our alumni and to give our current students a chance to see what our alumni, now working professionals in the field, are doing.” The concert allowed students to make connections and become inspired about their future careers. It was important for them to envision themselves as successful artistic entrepreneurs down the road.

The alumni also returned as performers. Fuchs said: “It feels great to be welcoming all of these former students to their Dance Department home, to have them dancing on our floors again and to see how they have developed in the time since they were students.”

A variety of dance pieces were performed. One dance, “Weathered” by Erika Record (MFA 2014), was a quartet inspired by weather patterns and the aftermath of destructive storms. Another dance, Lynched, by Terrance M. Johnson (MFA 2015), took the audience on a cultural journey that reflected upon Black past, present and future. 

All the dances reflected the fact that the TWU program is modern dance-based at its core.

Each choreographer had a certain story to tell with their dance. Some dances had clear cultural references, while others were more abstract which allowed the audience to arrive at their own understandings. Fuchs loved this aspect of the concert; “the nice thing about dance is that there is not just one way to look at a dance. Some audience members look for a story, others for an image or an emotion, while others just enjoy watching people move intentionally to music.”

Fuchs said that the concert turned out so well and was so much fun, they’ve already started planning the concert again: “We have already set the dates for next year, so please mark January 25 and 26, 2018 on your calendars!”