Beyond Words II Performance

    This weekend two dance companies in residence at Mercyhurst came together for a weekend of exciting performances.  Mercyhurst Ballet Theatre (MBT) and SoMar Dance Works collaborated on a concert that performed this weekend at the Mary D'Angelo Performing Arts Center on the Mercyhurst Main Campus.  With a lot of variety and live accompaniment, the concert was a stunning example of the freedom of expression.
    As a member of SoMar Dance Works for the past three years, the Beyond Words concert series for the past 2 years has become one of our main concerts of the school year.  Closing the show in Act II following MBT in Act I, SoMar Dance Works showed off our months of hard work with very creative, contemporary/modern dance styles as opposed to the classical/contemporary ballet that was showcased by MBT.  Everyone in the audience seemed to love our opening piece that consisted on "dancing lights" and commentary that introduced the cast of SoMar onstage.  The next piece fitting in with the Halloween theme for this week contained a humorous story about a mad-scientist, her evil assistant, and a band of zombies, which is the role I played.  Although the the movements we did and the story felt a little silly for us, the audience seemed to like the plot and dance. Amongst many other popular and crowd-pleasing dances that SoMar performed, the finale of the show was a dance called "Ahhh Oooh" which had a Spanish, Latin sense to its movements.  Containing three different sections, this dance was definitely one of the most tiring dances of the concert, but also my favorite. It really showcased how talented and well-diverse the SoMar dancers can be.  All of us are trained in ballet just like the MBT dancers are, taking technique classes each day.  But I think being part of SoMar teaches you how to perform in a different way and makes us more versatile in our repertoire and movement qualities.
    As I am now icing my body as I write this post, it is obvious that the weekend definitely took a toll on my body.  Covered in floor burns, bruises, and muscle fatigue everywhere on my body from the stress it took dancing and performing, I am looking forward to having a little bit more time to breathe, focus on school work, and prepare for finals, both dance and academic finals.  Hopefully most of you got a chance to see the show this weekend!  If not or would like to see more, SoMar Dance Works will be doing their own concert in the spring so standby for more details :)

SoMar Dance Works Company Cast:

   

Senior Photos Complete. Website Coming Soon!

   This weekend my two roommates (both senior dancers as well) and I traveled to Cleveland for our Senior Dance Photoshoot with photographer, Larry Coleman.  I was a little anxious and nervous like I always am for photoshoots but Larry made the session very comfortable and inspiring.  I was the first one to start in our group.  We began with headshots, which is not always the way Larry runs his shoots. Usually he has us been with our full body dance shots to get us comfortable in front of the mirror and then finish with headshots.  But because I was most nervous for headshots and didn't want my hair to be messy after moving so much, I was glad we did them first...41 headshots later, we finally moved on to the movement shots.
   I brought 4-5 different outfits to where to fit the many different genres of dance that I planned to shoot.  Each audition asks for different shots so it was best to have many to choose from.  We were allowed around 100 shots each so when I realized I used up 41 shots only on headshots, I felt a little discouraged.  It was really hard to make your face, arms, legs, angle, etc. all look good in one photo.  It also made it sometimes frustrating when your body would look great but you were making a funny face :P  Luckily, with our package for the photoshoot, we get to have 8 of our favorite pictures edited and photo-shopped to make them look just like you want them.  Looking through them all, I think I found my favorites but I'm waiting to hear what my parents say are there favorites too.  It never hurts to see what other people think would work :)
   Hopefully once I get the ones I want edited, I can get them uploaded to my promotional dance website.  Having a promotional website is a requirement for my Senior Pro-Seminar class for senior dance majors and needs to be published by Nov. 8.  I'm simply waiting on these photographs and my promo DVD I'm having made and then I will be publishing my site.  Don't worry I will let you know when I do so you can go on and see it!
   Here are some of my favorites that I intend to use for auditions. What do you think? :)

Two Weeks Til Showtime!

   SoMar Dance Works and Mercyhurst Ballet Theatre are busy at work in the dance studio preparing for our Fall Concert, "Beyond Words II" that takes place in the Mary D'Angelo Performing Arts Center on the Mercyhurst Campus October 26th at 4:30, October 27th at 2:00 and 7:00, and October 28th at 2:00 (Tickets can be purchased through the Box Office).  With only about two more weeks to really prepare before hitting the stage, both companies are refining and cleaning their many pieces they will perform.
    As part of SoMar Dance Works for the past three years, I have worked under the direction of Mark & Solveig Santillano, co-founders of the company.  Centralized in modern contemporary movement, SoMar Dance Works is known to impress, entertain, and leave you in awe of their strength, talent, and performance humor.  This will be the second year that SoMar will be sharing the Fall show Mercyhurst Ballet Theatre (MBT) but this year the show will be split into two halves, one dedicated to MBT and the other SoMar.  One thing is for sure, the audience is definitely in for a treat!  Mixing the classical ballet with some more contemporary/abstract pieces gives a little bit of everything for the whole family.
    Although we still have a lot of work to do this week and next before show week, including learn an entire dance and finish another, I think our company is in very good shape.  We have added a few extra rehearsals into our schedule which should ease our anxiety a little bit to make sure we finish and clean all our dances so we will feel comfortable for showtime.  I'm very excited to see it all come together.  Everyone should come support our companies and the Mercyhurst Dancers in our performances!

Here are some pictures from last year's performance of "Beyond Words."  Some of rehearsal and backstage blooper shots :)