The Columbia College Dance Company will present its annual Spring Choreographers’ Showcase on Friday and Saturday, April 24 and 25 at 7:30 pm in Cottingham Theatre. The Dance Alumnae Concert will be added to the end of the Spring Choreographers’ Showcase on April 25.
 
The concert will feature works from Columbia College Dance Company Alumnae. The showcase will feature contemporary pieces from student choreographers including Lucy Considine, Jessica Hale, Allie Padget, Jennifer Becker, Elyse Cox, Ashley Wilkerson, Amanda Ling, and Kristen Roszell.  
 
The students reflect on their pieces:
 Euphoric Experience for the Monophobic Mind by Lucy Considine, junior:
“The inspiration for this piece is substance abuse and the fear of being alone.  The choreography is used as a commentary on drugs showing, often in an exaggerated and comical way, different aspects of drug use.  Robotic and spacey movement is intermixed within the dance to portray these aspects.”
 
A Beautiful Women is a Practical Poet by Jessica Hale, first-year:
“This piece portrays a woman’s worth to herself and to other people and perception of self versus the perception that others have about her. The movement can be described as pedestrian.”
 
Let Go or Hold On by Allie Padget, sophomore:
“I got the idea for the dance when my dad remarried. The dance has a lot to do with the words in the song. It's about being in a tough situation and eventually finding peace in knowing things will be alright. The movement I chose was a lot of reaching and grasping with the arms and hands emphasizing the motion of reaching for a way out. My favorite movement is the very beginning and end when Sam Baker and Sam Trombly have their duo. In the beginning, Trombly tries to grab hold of Baker but slips away. At the end, she is able to turn around and hold on to Baker as if she’s finally reached the end and a solution to the situation. The title, ‘Let Go or Hold On,’ means that you can either let go and give up looking for peace...or you can hold on and tough it out until you find it!”
 
Shift by Jennifer Becker, junior:
“It’s about three different people in their separate lives; it follows them as their lives are shifted, effected and changed. Each dancer uses imagery of moving through different matter such as sand, water, and electricity. The movement is curious and different for each dancer.”
 
In My Place by Elyse Cox, sophomore:
“My dance is a solo about movement playing with direction, playing with the four corners of a room and playing with pathways. The idea behind the dance is trying to figure out which way to go in the space and in life.”
 
Drippin’ Rhythm by Ashley Wilkerson, senior:
“It’s a technical precision-based dance work that aims to highlight and clarify the use of spatial patterns and mapping layers of choreographic dynamics along with numerous bodies in space.”
 
I Called It by Elyse Cox, sophomore:
“The movement is extremely experimental. This is the draft for my BFA project. The movement is about changing in space and changing places. The movement looks random, but it is performed in an exact pattern.”
 
Paint my Canvas Bright by Amanda Ling, junior:
“I created this piece as a sort of parting gift for my closest senior friends who I have learned so much from and have grown so close to.  The two dancers in black, Elyse and myself, are two friends who are younger than the other dancers who have learned bits and pieces from the others. In the end, they are the two left to create their own dance in their footsteps.  I wanted to choreograph a piece that was true to my artistic aesthetic but also display how I have been influenced by such great friends. This was a really fun piece to create because of the fun music, costumes, and awesome cast.”
 
Turbulent Love by Jennifer Becker, junior:
“This piece portrays a classic love story based loosely on the story of my parents. The movements are classic steps with a contemporary twist.”
 
What Happens When by Kristen Roszell, sophomore:
“The idea for this piece originated through the friendship of the four performers. The movement is derived from experiences of individual dancers or ones they experienced together. It has a motif present throughout the piece. The motif is the use of the hand and the idea behind it is the variety of things we have experimented with throughout life, good or bad.”

 
Tickets are $10 General Admission and $5 Senior Citizens and Students. For reservations,
call the Cottingham Theatre Box Office at 786-3850.
 
-release prepared by Chaquita Williams