by Rayni Collins and Chasity Evans
 
Columbia College Dance Department presents “Stripping Away,” an original full-length contemporary dance performance by senior dance majors Rayni Collins and Chasity Evans. The show will be held on February 8 and 9 at 7:30 p.m. in Cottingham Theatre on the Columbia College campus, located at 1301 Columbia College Drive.  Convenient free parking is available near Cottingham Theatre. For more information, please call the Columbia College Dance Department at 803.786.3559 or 803.786.3778.
 
Rayni Collins and Chasity Evans will premiere “Stripping Away,” an evening of six choreography pieces performed with members of the Columbia College dance department.  The show contains three group performances and a solo. Collins’s group piece, “Unconscious Awareness,” is based on her personal experience and fascination with the relationship of sleeping and dreaming.  Her solo is structured improvisation involving a spectacular light show.  Evans’s group piece, “Flow with Jerk,” reflects the change of movement dynamics, directions, and use of space.  Her solo within the group piece is in memory of her grandfather and depicts actions and emotions of those who may deal with cancer, as well as how the body is affected by cancer. The music featured for the show includes Sleepytime Gorilla Museum, Dredg, Between the Buried and Me, Alarm Will Sound, as well improvisational compositions by Eric Wolffe and music edited by Candace Collins.  
 
Rayni Leigh Collins is a native of York, S.C.  Rayni started her dance training at the age of 10 with jazz, tap, lyrical, ballet, pointe, hip-hop, and contemporary and is now a senior in the bachelor of fine arts dance program at Columbia College. She has performed with the Columbia Classical Ballet Company in Arabian and Waltz of the Flowers, and The Power Company. In addition, she has performed under the tutelage of Christian Von Howard, Lisa Wheeler-Rossi, Ginny Skinner Haynes, Dan Wagoner, and other dance professionals. A four-year dance scholarship award recipient at Columbia College, Rayni also received the Debbie Turbeville Award in 2007.  Rayni is currently the student event coordinator for Columbia College Dance Company and an apprentice with The Power Company.  
 
Chasity Starling Evans began her dance training in her hometown of Hamlet, N.C.  As a 2004 dance scholarship recipient, she majors in dance at Columbia College and is a senior in the bachelor fine arts program, studying dance, performance, and choreography.  She has studied and performed with renowned dance artists including Christian von Howard, Lisa Wheeler, Dan Wagoner, Erika Wilson Perkins, Ginny Skinner Hayes, and other dance professionals.  Her choreography has been showcased in venues such as Cottingham Theatre, SCAPHERD, Saluda Shoals Park, and Amazing Feets.  She is currently vice president of the Columbia College Dance Company and recently joined the Core Dance Ensemble.