Abigail Dunagan, Campus Carrier asst. arts and living editor

The Berry College Dance Company will hold a recital titled “Spring Into Dance” at the Sisters Theater on April 21- 23. The dance company hosts a recital every year at the end of every semester. This recital will showcase a wide range of different dance styles. The show has been choreographed by Berry faculty members, as well as students who have completed the course DAN 307, a Choreography class. This class teaches stage use, photographic imagery, the inclusion of accents in a final dance. 

Junior Hayley Craig is a manager for the dance company. She will also be performing at the recital. According to Craig, rehearsals for the show started at the beginning of Spring semester. Before practices can begin, there is an audition process. After the auditions, the choreographers will cast dancers for each role. Once the dancers are cast, the choreographers work with the students’ schedules, and there is a one-hour rehearsal each week for the entire semester leading up to the performance. 

“We cast the dancers; we work with their schedules, and we usually have a one-hour rehearsal for each dance every single week,” Craig said. “That’s the entire semester leading up to the final performance.”

According to Craig, the most challenging part of preparing for the dance is the adjudication process. The adjudication process happens once during the beginning of the semester, and once after the dance is finished. The dances are sent out to other choreographers from around the country, and they provide feedback for the dances. 

“I think that’s the most difficult part, because you want to do the dance correctly for the videos,” Craig said. 

Junior Nadhia Garcia is a stage technician for the recital. She has been doing lighting for shows since middle school, but she also works in the scene shop for the Berry College Theatre Department (BCTC). Setting up for the dance recital is relatively simple compared to a theatrical show, as the dance recital does not require a set to be built. According to Garcia, the scene shop does a bit of everything to prepare for performances. 

“Once we finish the last theater show, we move into prepping for the dance concerts,” Garcia said. “We clear out the space, and depending on if the curtains are in the right place or not it could take another day to set up. We do need to have three curtains up so that the dancers can have the ‘wings’ where they come out on the side of the stage.” 

Preparing up for the performance involves setting up the lighting and installing a Marley floor, a specially designed floor for the dancers to use.  According to Garcia, setting up the lights is a simple process, as a lot of the student workers have experience installing lighting. The lights are installed based on a pre-determined layout of how the lights will be arranged. After setting up the lights, the team works to ensure that everything is connected and ready to be used. 

“I always enjoy doing lighting for dance concerts. In high school, I did them for the dance teacher, and I had the opportunity to work for guitar and choir concerts,” Garcia said. “I like having the free ability to design the show, and being able to see the process for what the dancers envisioned for the pieces.”

Along with participating in dance, Craig is also a part of theater. She said that dance is very different from theater, as the pieces are very different and unique. Rehearsing for the dance recital involves working on a lot of different pieces. 

“I have one piece where I am doing a tap number, and another piece where I am doing a jazz routine,” Craig said. “I think the biggest difference is that each rehearsal is very unique and different.”

According to Craig, she is looking forward to sharing the performance with an audience. Students have been working on these pieces for the entire semester, and Craig said that she feels that they are ready to perform for an audience. 

“The most exciting part is getting to perform with everyone, and having the opportunity to be on stage,” Craig said. “I think we are ready for an audience right now, and we are excited to put these pieces out and show people what we have been working on all semester.”