Returning with confidence from the 2015 American College Dance Association Conference-South Region along with dance instructor Dr. Martie Fellom and four Southeastern students: Faith Allen, Joseph Matherne, Lindsy Brown and Christa Clement, dance instructor Skip Costa will be putting on a concert this week, the Dance Performance Project.
The name of the Dance Performance Project concert is “Movement Shifting.” Performances are scheduled for 7:30 p.m. on Wednesday, March 25 and Thursday, March 26 within the Pottle Music Auditorium. There will be a pre-show entitled “Washed Away” consisting of seven simultaneous dances scheduled at 7:00 p.m. in front of the Pottle building.
“Movement Shifting” is comprised of six dance numbers, each clocking in at five to seven minutes in length, making the concert itself about an hour. Choreographers for the concert include Clement, Allen, Warren, Brown, Matherne and Costa. Each number explores a different concept, such as the relation between the government and the people, grief and courage.
Matherne’s piece is entitled “Why I Hate School but Love Education.” Set to Suli Breaks’ “I will not let an exam decide my fate,” it addresses the stress and confusion college students often experience.
“A lot of students believe that there is not a difference between education and school, but to me, there is a huge difference between the two,” said Matherne. “Sadly, I have gone through the experience where I have had to teach myself because another teacher could not teach me. I decided to channel my energy into creating a piece that I believe defines this feeling. I know other students feel similarly due to the one-on-one conversations I have had with them. We have all asked ourselves at one point: Why are we forced to take classes we have no interests in? Why are we all graded on the same level even though we all think differently? I have formulated this dance to reflect these overwhelming feelings to inform the audience that it’s OK to be confused and that there are others in that same boat.”
Faith Allen received a great confidence from her experiences at the ACDA conference. Her number is entitled “Time.”
“Due to the death of my beloved grandmother, I began to question the aspect of time,” said Allen. “My thoughts about time lead me to creating a spoken word/musical performance in remembrance of my grandmother. Throughout my piece, ‘Time,’ I studied the effects that time can have on one’s life. I was chosen to perform this piece at the 2015 American College Dance Association conference and received great feedback. I am proud of myself for pushing my choreographic boundaries and discovering new ways to choreograph. I look forward to learning more about myself as a choreographer.”
If his feelings on his students’ performance at the ACDA conference in Tennessee are any indication, then Costa is confident in their abilities.
“I am so very proud of our dancers,” said Costa. “The dancers lived within each moment of their performances giving true meaning to the artistry we teach at Southeastern Louisiana University. And the fact that our faculty work was selected for the closing gala just re-enforces and gives credibility to the level of training and innovation we do here on this campus.”
For more information on other events related to the Department of Fine and Performing Arts, visit their page on the university website.