Dance Til You Awe
The dance concert, which premiered last Friday, April 26, was a smashing success. The seats were filled with students, community members, and St. Lawrence University faculty and staff to watch the 11 individual pieces that made up the performance. Every piece had elements of student choreography. A few of the dances, mainly solos, were choreographed as a part of the “Dance Improvisation and Composition” course. Students honed their artistic abilities to create a work of art lasting approximately three to five minutes. Soloists included Allyson Germain ’25, Adaleigh Novak ’25, Bryana A.S. Thieret ’24 and many more.
The ensemble performances were also a hit. The concert kicked off with jazz-based moves to Earth, Wind & Fire’s 1978 bop “September” by students Lauren Bate ’27, Gabrielle Cote ’25, Emir Gibbs ’24 and Hanna Lindroth ’27. The concert then moved to more emotional performances, notably a haunting duet starring Ryann Murray ’24 and Molly Doyle ’25 entitled “You’ll Never Lose Me Again.” The interpretation was choreographed by Murray herself.
A stand-out group piece, “Lost,” led by Germain, employed dancers Cote, Charis Bouton ’26, Natalie Kirby ’27 and Serena Lamontagne ’25.
The story conveyed was riveting, emotional and nothing short of breathtaking. The talented Germain, who performed in three separate pieces during the concert, will hopefully continue choreographing and dancing for years to come.
The final piece of the concert was first choreographed and performed in 2019 at The University of Iowa as “All in Good Time,” but has since been reconstructed as “In the Grains of Time” to fit St. Lawrence University’s modern dance group of seven students, including Bouton, Doyle, Kirby, Lamontagne, Novak, Leah Wallace ’27 and Elijah White ’26. The dance told the story of timekeepers, pensively passing sand through their fingers as 15 minutes of wonder and passion passed by. What began as conceptual soon turned divine as the dancers placed the bowls of sand to the side and performed sets of moves in three lines on the stage, allowing each motion to travel row by row, creating a haunting ripple effect.
White, a seasoned performer in University Theatre, says of the grand finale, “being a dancer at St. Lawrence University was an incredible experience. Working with [concert director] Jessie Madden and my fellow dancers provided a fantastic collaboration space for creative minds.” This was White’s first dance performance at St. Lawrence, and he says “I will absolutely be dancing again here at SLU!”
In my opinion, this was the best dance concert the University has had in the years I have been here. A unique blend of style and choreography culminated in a tremendous success. Dance concerts are held at the end of every semester here at St. Lawrence. To get involved in an ensemble in the fall semester, contact Jessica Madden in the Performance and Communication Arts department to learn more.
If dancing isn’t your thing, be sure to catch the A Cappela Spring Concert, featuring the Singing Saints, Singing Sinners, and Upbeats in Gunnison Chapel on May 4 at 7 p.m.