What started as an assignment in their choreography course has taken several UNC Greensboro dance students to the national stage.
“It feels incredible. It definitely is a moment of big Spartan pride,” says Clara Kennedy, a UNCG junior studying for a bachelor of fine arts in dance – choreography and performance with a minor in women’s, gender, and sexuality studies.
Kennedy, along with Grayson Kelsh, Laniya Smith, Morgan Burgess, Dasia Amos, and Emily Dumonceaux performed an original contemporary dance piece at the American Collegiate Dance Association (ACDA) national festival in May. The national festival was the culmination of a series of conference performances for the group.
A CHOREOGRAPHY CHALLENGE
In Fall 2022, the group choreographed the piece – titled “Aria’s Narrative” – in their Choreography III: Group Forms course with Associate Professor B.J. Sullivan. In the course, Sullivan tasked the students with choreographing to music from Glenn Gould’s album “Bach’s Goldberg Variations” – first in solos, then duets, and finally moving on to groups.
“I make them work with music that none of them would pick, and it is incredibly difficult,” says Sullivan, who says she likes to push her students to reach their best potential. “If you can choreograph to a Bach Goldberg variation, you can choreograph to just about anything.”
The piece was originally the student’s final assignment for the class and was about 20 minutes long. In December 2022, Sullivan took the work to other faculty who agreed it was an outstanding piece to represent UNCG. She then helped the students shorten the performance to 12 minutes for consideration at festivals.
POSITIVE FEEDBACK
In March, the students performed “Aria’s Narrative” at the American Collegiate Dance Association (ACDA) Mid-Atlantic South Conference and were one of ten schools chosen for the Mid-Atlantic South Gala. There, the group was chosen for the national conference. Out of the past five ACDA national festivals, UNCG has been chosen to perform four times.
“This is huge. Our students are realizing they can do anything and that’s fantastic,” says Sullivan.
At the ACDA Mid-Atlantic South Conference, Kennedy says the adjudicators – some of the best in the dance world – offered nothing but positive feedback. For Sullivan, it’s the best feedback she’s heard at all the ACDA regional conferences she’s attended.
“It was one of the best moments of my career at UNCG to hear these adjudicators give that feedback,” Sullivan says. “Every point the adjudicators made was something I worked with the students on, so it’s satisfying.”
One of the dancers, Dasia Amos, says hearing that feedback was a relief.
“This piece was something we created as a group so you get a little attached to the material and it can be hard to hear critiques,” says Amos, a junior studying dance – choreography and performance with a minor in musical theater. “It made me feel more assured in my decision to be in the UNCG dance program and be a part of this dance community.”
AN UNDERDOG STORY
Their performance at the regional conference was an underdog story – having to compete against schools with larger dance programs. But the Spartan talent shone through.
“It made me very happy to be a Spartan in that moment in time,” Amos says.
Both Kennedy and Amos say their choice to come to UNCG was largely impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic and a desire to find a community – something they’ve each found in the dance program. Sullivan says her Choreography III course assignment naturally encourages collaboration among students who may not work together regularly.
“It shows the diversity of UNCG’s School of Dance. These dancers are all different types of movers, and they come from different backgrounds,” Sullivan says. “Now they’re supportive of each other, and it just makes me happy.”
The dancers are still waiting to hear whether they will be chosen for the Jacob’s Pillow Dance Festival in Massachusetts – America’s longest-running international dance festival. But for Kennedy, it all comes back to community.
“ACDA has easily become one of the major highlights of my college career,” she says. “The classes we took, the performances we saw, and the lifelong friends we made with other dancers all over the country are going to be memories that we cherish forever. Our performance was great, and all of us couldn’t be prouder to call ourselves Spartans.”
Story by Avery Craine Powell, University Communications
Photography by David Lee Row, University Communications
Choreograph your big number at UNCG
