Companydance is a student dance company comprised of several separate projects and pieces (First Year Dance Project, Senior Dance Concert, faculty works, and guest artist works) offering a wide variety of performing opportunities. It is open by audition to all students. Companydance’s primary aesthetic is grounded in the modern dance tradition but is by no means restricted to it. The audition form is located at the bottom of this webpage. The form is due Sunday, Sept. 9, 2018, at 11:00 p.m. Important – Read all of the information carefully before filling out the audition form. The dance department wants you to be clear about your participation commitments in Companydance.
Companydance Casting
It is the Dance Department’s desire to welcome, include and encourage every student who wishes to participate in our classes, companies, and dance major. We make a fervent effort to model this philosophy when casting students for dance projects. The department considers a number of factors during the process including:
- the student’s previous college-wide curricular and co-curricular experiences, including the ability to fulfill commitments and to work responsibly and diligently, both independently and in a group environment
- the student’s range of previous Companydance experiences in consideration for future growth and development
- the number and types of dancers required for each project
- the student’s dancing ability
Students are eligible to be cast in a maximum of three (3) Companydance projects/pieces. You are able to select the exact number of projects (1 to 3) in which you would like to be cast. This number usually depends upon your anticipated academic load and other co-curricular activities involvement. Understand that as a member of Companydance you are also expected to maintain your rigorous academic schedule, honor your other co-curricular activities, and allow for as much personal time as you need in order to remain a healthy, contributing member of this college and dance community. You are encouraged to select all the piece(s)/project(s) that you are interested in, that will challenge you, that you have not yet experienced, and to which you are able to fully commit. To enhance your opportunity for involvement in Companydance make sure your schedule is clear during the rehearsal times of as many projects as possible. Dance majors are expected to self-select participation in a wide variety of Companydance experiences, including a diverse range of faculty, guest artist, and student works. Note – You must be enrolled in a movement intensive dance class during each term of your participation in Companydance.
There are 8 project/pieces to choose from this year. Read about each one and use this information in your decision-making process:
A – First-Year Dance Project (FYDP)
- Directed by Arneshia Williams
- Dancers who are new to the College or Companydance have the opportunity to work in a company setting with each Dance Department faculty in the span of one academic year. A range of movement aesthetics, styles and philosophies will be explored. The project results in an end of the academic year concert.
- This is required of all first-year students in Companydance & highly recommended for first-time participants of Companydance.
- First Year Dance Project rehearses the entire year (FYDP does not formally rehearse during Interim term).
- Rehearsal schedule beginning Thursday, 9/13: Tuesdays: 3:00-5:00 p.m. and Thursdays: 3:45-5:45 p.m.
- Performances / Events
- First Glimpse – Friday, September 24, 4:00 p.m.
- First Year Dance Project Concert – Friday, May 20, 4:00 p.m.
- Additional showing opportunities are possible throughout the year and will be planned in consultation with cast members.
B – Senior Dance Concert Choreography Projects
- Directed by the senior dance majors selecting choreography as their senior dance capstone project option.
- Regular Weekly Rehearsal Schedule: Each senior dance project rehearses separately, twice each week, once for a 90-minute block of time between 5:00-11:00 p.m. M-F and once for a two-hour block of time on Saturday or Sunday.
- Additional weeknight and weekend rehearsals beginning Friday, 12/1 and running through the Senior Dance Project Performances.
- Performances: Senior Dance Concert (Thursday, 12/6, Friday, 12/7, and Saturday, 12/8 at 7:30 p.m. in Kelsey Theater).
- If you are in Christmas Festival, you are able to perform in the Senior Dance Concert. Note that a keen awareness to schedule and clear, open, and timely communication between you and your senior choreographer are imperative!
- By selecting the Senior Dance Concert projects as one or more of your project options, you will be considered for either of the Senior Dance Concert projects. You are not able to indicate your interest in participation for individual senior dance projects.
Senior Dance Capstone Project Descriptions
Beniak, Tianna
I will create a group choreography piece that focuses on dance experiences and how this has affected lives. I will narrow this by looking at people’s first dance class or experience and what causes them to continue dancing. I will gather this information by conducting interviews with as many dancers as possible, both inside and outside of the dance department. The interview questions will be created by me in collaboration with my dancers. I love to create movement that says what words cannot, so the movement will largely be based on the information that I gather through interviews. I am looking for a group of at least 5 dancers that are excited to create and share.
Gruber, Julian
My idea for this performance work centers around creating a visual spectacle that interweaves surprising juxtapositions of color, movement, and sound. My core idea is the color of sound. I plan on using a careful light design that uses projected images as well. Costumes will be a vital part. Currently, I have in mind to create some original sound for the piece and it would be fun to have the movers contribute to this recording. I’m not necessarily looking for trained dancers. I would like to have bodies moving onstage at certain moments but not for the entirety of the work. One to three movers would be my ideal. Rehearsals would be determined upon casting. If you have an interest in experimental sounds, you have odd/colorful clothing, or like to try new things, I would like to see/hear from you!
Oblitas, Daniele
I will be choreographing a group piece surrounding topics related to food such as access to food and land use, and the treatment and livelihood of agricultural workers. I want to explore a couple of specific topics and problems relating to food in the United States: food deserts, sustainability, and agricultural workers rights and relate these topics to the personal experiences of marginalized communities. I would like to create a group choreography piece that explores certain key questions about food such as where does our food come from? Who has access to healthy food? Who are the workers who provide our food and are treated humanely? I am interested in using dirt/soil on stage and will be used in the choreographic process. Research and understanding personal experiences will be integral in creating choreography for this piece and I hope to create full bodied and vulnerable movement with group collaboration with dancers. I am looking for any number of dancers willing to explore and create!
Rames, Jessie
In this piece, I want to explore the relationship that dance and artwork have through combining painting, sketching, and full-bodied movement into a larger project. Dance is ‘in the moment’: the moves are presented and then, they are gone. With art, you see the final picture but not the brushstrokes it took to get the final product. There will be a lot of elements at work, such as videotaping, drawing, dancing, and creating (no art technique/experience/background is needed for this piece). In this project, I plan to work with a group of 5-7 to explore and grow.
Companydance Spring Concert Projects (C, D, E, F, G)
- Co-directed by Heather Klopchin and Anthony Roberts
- Companydance Spring Concert pieces rehearse the entire year and have additional weeknight and weekend rehearsals beginning Friday, 4/26/2019 and running through the Companydance Spring Concert performances on May 2, 3 and 4, 2019 at 7:30 p.m.
- Performances / Events
- First Glimpse – Friday, September 21, 4:00 p.m.
- Companydance Spring Concert -May 2, 3 and 4, 2019 at 7:30 p.m.
- Additional showing opportunities are possible throughout the year and will be planned in consultation with cast members.
C – Heather Klopchin’s Project
- Directed by Heather Klopchin
- I will be restaging my work “Gridlock” for performance in the Companydance Spring Concert in May. This piece originally created in 2007 and remounted in 2011 and 2016 is highly athletic and physical with lots of movement in and out of the floor. The piece feels stark and isolated, each dancer unaware there is a world outside their own place on the grid. As the piece continues dancers discover the outside world and long to break out of the grid they are in. I would like to cast 9-16 dancers. I would also like to use a Student as Rehearsal Director. This student should not be in the work but needs to be able to come to all the rehearsals especially in the Spring.
- Regular weekly rehearsal schedule beginning Monday, 9/17: Mondays 7-9pm in CAD Studio 2.
- Not planning to rehearse in January
D – Anthony Roberts’ Project
- Directed by Anthony Roberts
- I plan to work in collaboration with dancers/movers to create a dance that explores, examines, demonstrates, and reveals the complexities and considerations involved when people (with different experiences) engage in movement ‘conversations.’ I am interested in working with any number of dancers. Movers of all abilities and experiences are welcome and invited to participate.
- Regular weekly rehearsal schedule beginning Thursday, 9/13 and continuing through the May 2019 performances: Tuesdays: 3:00-5:00 p.m. and Thursdays: 3:45-5:45 p.m. in CAD Studio 3.
- During January, students who are on campus will rehearse one day each week.
E – Karla Grotting’s Project
- Directed by Karla Grotting
- Teknocheck Collision (working title) will implement an array of human rhythm-making movement forms including jazz dance stylings, tap dance grooves, hand-clapping and highly-athletic body percussion to explore a musical score described as an exciting fusion of “fiery Balkan brass, throbbing funk grooves…accordion wizardry and virtuoso jazz chops”. Tap dancers and dancing musicians are encouraged to audition, although tap skills are NOT necessary! Looking for 10 to 14 dancers.
- Regular weekly rehearsal schedule beginning Monday, 9/17: Mondays and Wednesdays from 3:45-5:45pm in the Fall.
- Upkeep rehearsals will be Wednesdays 3:45-5:45pm in the Spring in CAD Studio 2 through the May 2019 performances.
- Not planning to rehearse in January
- Heather Klopchin will serve as Rehearsal Director.
F – Mathew Janczewski’s Project
- Directed by Mathew Janczewski
- Mathew Janczewski is creating an abstract, technical modern dance (Dancey Dance!) to the experimental and contemplative sounds of Nils Frahm for the Companydance Spring Concert in May. Nils uses an unconventional approach to an age-old instrument, played intimately, and on a mesmerizing scale with a highly developed sense of control and restraint in his work. He is looking for 6 dancers.
- Regular weekly rehearsal schedule beginning Monday, 11/12:
- Monday, Nov. 12th from 3:45-6:45pm
- Wednesday, Nov. 14th from 3:45-6:45pm
- Monday, Nov. 19 from 3:45-6:45pm
- Monday, Nov. 26 from 3:45-6;45pm
- Wednesday, Nov. 28 from 3:45-6:45pm (and 7:30-9:30pm if needed)
- Monday, Dec. 10 from 3:45-6:45pm (and 7:30-9:30pm if needed)
- Upkeep rehearsals through the May 2019 performances in the Spring: Mondays 3:45-5:45pm in CAD Studio 1
- Not planning to rehearse in January
- Heather Klopchin will serve as Rehearsal Director
G – Shapiro & Smith Dance’s Project
- Directed by Shapiro & Smith Dance
- Shapiro & Smith Dance will be setting their sweeping modern dance work “A Moment Before” originally created in 2001 and set to the music of Sergei Rachmaninoff. They are looking for 6 dancers (3 women/3 men or 4 women/2 men) and 1 understudy.
- Due to the intensity of the rehearsal process for this project, priority will be given to declared dance majors.
- Spring Rehearsals Only
- Regular weekly rehearsal schedule beginning Sunday, 2/10 in CAD Studio 1:
- Sunday, Feb. 10th 1pm-5pm
- Monday, Feb. 11th 3:45-5:45pm and 6:45-8:45pm
- Tuesday, Feb. 12th 3-5pm and 6-8pm
- Wednesday, Feb. 13th 3:45-5:45pm and 6:45-8:45pm
- Thursday, Feb. 14th 3:45-5:45pm and 6:45-8:45pm
- Friday, Feb. 15th 3:45-5:45pm and 6:45-8:45pm
- Saturday, Feb. 16th 1pm-5pm
- Sunday, Feb. 17th 1pm-5pm
- Upkeep rehearsals through the May 2019 performances will be Wednesday nights from 7-9pm in CAD Studio 1
- Heather Klopchin will serve as Rehearsal Director
Required Companydance Meetings
Participants of Companydance are required to attend monthly Companydance meetings in which relevant information and issues pertaining to Companydance will be addressed. Exceptions to meeting participation are limited to curricular/co-curricular conflicts. The current schedule is as follows:
- Friday, Sept. 14 at 3:30pm in Studio 3 (Shapiro and Smith have a rehearsal in S1 and S2)
- Friday, Oct. 26 at 3:30pm in Studio 1
- Friday, Nov. 16 at 3:30pm in Studio 1
- Friday, Feb. 8 at 3:30pm in Studio 1
- Friday, March 1 at 3:30pm in Studio 1
- Friday, April 5 at 3:30pm in Studio 1
Companydance Rehearsal Schedule Conflicts
Below is the list of Companydance rehearsal schedule conflicts. Obviously, you are able to participate in only one of the pieces/projects with overlapping schedules. It is imperative that you are familiar with these conflicts when selecting the projects you would like to participate in. You are encouraged to numerically prioritize your choices whenever possible to enable the faculty to be as fully aware of your selection preferences as possible. If you do not have a preference, you can indicate this by giving two or more projects the same numeric priority. Please keep in mind that your selection preference is one of several factors influencing your casting in Companydance.
- First Year students will not be considered for the Shapiro & Smith Dance guest project.
- Overlapping MW rehearsal schedules: Karla Grotting’s Project, Mathew Janczewski’s Project
- Overlapping TTH rehearsal schedules: First Year Dance Project, Anthony Roberts Project
Service Hours
In the dance community, we need to help and support each other as we create and present dance. This is true as well for the St. Olaf Dance Community. There are various performances, special events, and workshops held during the year in which we need help and support. Without your help, we would not be able to provide all the exciting events in dance. We are requiring these service hours of all members of Companydance. Read Companydance Service Hours.
After you have carefully read and you understand the information above, you are ready to fill out the audition form.
- You will need to be logged into your St. Olaf email account to open the form.
- Be sure to click “submit” at the bottom of the form after you have filled it out.
- After clicking “submit”, a window will appear that reads, “Your response has been recorded.”
- In this same window, you will have the opportunity to edit your response by clicking the “Edit your response” link.
- Once you leave or close the form window, you cannot make additional changes.
- If you have difficulty completing the form, please contact Anthony Roberts, Dance Faculty and/or Ashley Stock, Dance Technical Director.
- Form due: Sunday, September 9, 2018 @ 11:00PM.
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