Considering that any uncoordinated movement set to music can be considered “dancing,” the word itself doesn’t exactly elicit thoughts of hard work.
Yet few realize the intense dedication the craft requires.
Still/Moving, UNM’s showcase of student choreographers, allows dancers to show their work is as challenging as any traditional major, said Avalon Jay, a student choreographer.
“You stick with it, because speak to any dancer — they never do it for the money. You really have to love it,” he said. “So it’s like, after all the financial security you give up, all the other sacrifices you have to make, and the discipline that I have to have on top of it — after all that, I’m still moving.”
Aaron Hooper, another student choreographer, said the concert will showcase different dance styles, some of which are inspired by other cultures.
“This is the first concert that I’ve been involved with that incorporates flamenco, modern, contemporary, Mexican folklorico,” he said. “It’s going to be an amazing concert.”
Jay said about half the pieces are in the vein of modern dance, including his own, though he said his choreography takes into account spatial aesthetics, unlike most choreographers.
“I’m a very mathematical, design and space kind of choreographer,” he said. “It’s this sort of fun, spatial orientation. I’ve spoken with other choreographers that choreograph specifically to the music they have, and they’re really strong on storyline and what’s behind the choreography. For me, it’s more design.”
On top of their academic requirements, student choreographers are required to develop professional dancers who are aware of the theory and art behind their movements.
Jeanne D’Arc, a student in the master’s program, said the dynamic education she has received strengthened her physical, artistic and intellectual capacities.
“This is the first time that I’m combining the academics and this passion I’ve always had,” she said. “It’s a lot of work, because you’re tired all the time. You always have to present pieces and produce. They try to bring that artistic voice out of yourself. You take all this technique and all these ideas to something you really want to say, and that
requires a lot.”
For seniors, this marks the beginning of their descent into the world of professional dance. Hooper said he looks forward to developing his artistic vision.
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“All of the seniors this year, we’ve grown up in the department together, and now we’re ready to explore all these different ventures in our lives,” he said. “Now we’re really in this creative process. This is the moment in our lives where we can say, ‘OK, now’s the time to show what we can do before we get out into the real world.’”
D’Arc said she expects the concert to be a rich experience for the audience.
“It’s going to be a very vivid, different and broad concert, which is really nice to see different types of dancing from different cultures,” she said. “It’s another language, through movements expressing as if they were words.”
