At this year’s Spring Show, student company YaleDancers will bring together a variety of disciplines.
Held at the Educational Center for the Arts Theater on 55 Audubon St., the show will incorporate numerous genres of dance alongside elements drawn from other performing arts, including “aerial circus.” Building on the dancers’ exposure to a diverse array of styles and performative media, the group’s performances seek to synthesize various choreographies and elements of production. Eight performances will take place between Thursday and Saturday.
“There will be a huge range of genres performed in this show, hip-hop to ballet to aerial circus and everything in between,” Gracie White ’16, YaleDancers’ special events coordinator, said. “I think that a few of the pieces blur the lines between genres very successfully.”
White explained that the group’s members take a “company class” twice a week in a variety of styles, emphasizing the importance of this regular exposure to different genres of dance and its influence on the choreography of numbers that will be performed this weekend. According to White, the show’s final piece will include the whole company and incorporate several genres of dance.
Kaylyn Williams ’17, YaleDancers’ co-president, added that the company strives to let dancers use the biannual shows as an opportunity to experiment with their creativity.
“Our shows are predominantly student-choreographed, with the exception of one or two pieces that are set on us by guest choreographers,” Williams said.
Elizabeth Dach ’17, the group’s other co-president, explained YaleDancers’ selection of an off-campus performance venue was motivated by the ECA Theater’s dimensions, as well as its staff’s expertise.
In particular, Dach said Seth Harris, the theater’s technical director, is able to “work wonders” on the show’s production side.
“It’s a beautiful space that is large enough to accommodate our company, and the high ceilings allow some of our dancers to perform aerial circus numbers,” Dach said. “There really isn’t a performance space on Yale’s campus that would allow us to put up the same caliber show.”
For YaleDancers’ graduating seniors, White said, the final performance will mark a bittersweet end to their time with the company. For students planning to attend, such as Katerina Toffoloni ’19 and Romy Vassilev ’19, the show presents an exciting opportunity to experience the dancers’ hard work.
“I’m really excited about seeing YaleDancers since it is the oldest dance group on campus,” Toffoloni noted. “I can’t wait to see dancers, especially some who have trained and performed professionally, perform a variety of dance styles on stage. I love watching dance because you can go through so many emotions within a single minute.”
Vassilev said the occasion would mark her first YaleDancers show, though she has attended performances by other student groups in the past, including three this semester.
“I am particularly excited to see the YaleDancers show because I have never been to one of their performances before, but have always heard amazing things about [the group],” Vassilev said. “I love watching dance shows in general … so I think it will also be very interesting to see how their style and vibe differs from other dance groups on campus. And even though I don’t have any close friends in YaleDancers, I really enjoy going to events like these and just supporting all Yalies and their incredible talents.”
YaleDancers holds company auditions every fall.