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• Dancers Toil Before Studiodance II

Eyes are always on center stage. What the audience sees in a dance performance is a glimpse of the entire show. Though the concert lasts a matter of a few hours, students and staff of Studiodance II have been busy for weeks.

For dancers like junior Talia Kraft, the process started as far back as last year. Kraft was encouraged by her instructors and her peers to audition a piece that she had worked on in a composition class.

“There is a certain insecurity that someone feels with their own work, but I thought I owed it to myself to put it out there, even if it didn’t get in [the show],” Kraft said, “I’ve invested so much time into the piece, I just wanted to go for it!”

Kraft spent much of her time on choreography, trying to fuse the components of two previous solos. She also researched outside influences to develop her ideas further. By studying Norwegian expressionist Edward Munch and anxiety, Kraft’s dance took on deeper elements.

After much preparation and perfection, dancers auditioned their pieces in front of an adjudication committee, which consists of the concert director, several dance department faculty, one graduated student and one undergraduate.

Auditions can be a nerve-wracking process.

“There is a certain pressure with so many people watching,” she said “In a way you are competing for a spot in the show.”

Everyone from freshmen to graduate students presented their dances to the committee. Kraft’s, as well as nine other pieces, was chosen out of the 17 that auditioned.

“I was very excited. I felt very grateful that other people showed an appreciation for something that I spent so much time on,” she said.

Although the dancers show the committee a completed piece, they still continue to choreograph after auditions. Dancers are assigned a dance faculty member to act as a mentor. The mentors help the dancers to work through any kinks and to offer different suggestions to improve their piece.

Through working with her mentor, Tere O’Connor, they were able to create a second version of her dance, said Kraft.

“He gave me tools to mess with the structure of [the dance],” she said, “I ended up really liking the changes that we made.”

Studiodance II is a student showcase. Students are given artistic control of the technical aspects of their piece, but not without help from production coordinator Dan James. James supervises the production, design and technical aspects of the concert. Students seek James’ expertise when they are in a technical pinch, like with level sets.

“Level sets is a technical rehearsal that is done a week before the show,” James said. James also oversees the instillation of the special spring floor that is brought in to protect the dancers from injury while performing.

A combination of Krannert’s professional staff, dance department faculty, graduate assistants and undergraduates cooperate to execute the stage design that includes lighting, sound and props.

Undergraduate student crews are another important part of backstage work. Dance majors are required to crew the show for several reasons.

“One reason is that it is more practical than hiring a professional crew, but the other reason is that it is a learning experience,” he said, “They’re training to be professional dancers, so they should have a sense of all the other jobs going on backstage.”

Freshman Laura Freiburg has been at Krannert at least three days a week for five hours at a time, but she says that crewing has given her a new perspective.

“I’ve always been involved onstage during shows, so working on the other side has given me a better understanding and appreciation as a dancer,” she said.