Telling A Story Through Dance

A Talk with Emmie Hatfield

Choreography

DANCE/HARTWELL

     When I was younger, one of my favorite things to do was watching dance performances. If one of my friends invited me to go watch them in a recital I would happily tag along. After I stopped dancing I would even sometimes go to my old studio's dance recitals as well. As time went by and my life got busier I stopped.
     On October 28th, I decided to attend Dance/Hartwell. This second performance of a three day concert series featured The College of Brockport graduate and undergraduate student choreography. I got a seat up front and even though this performance was a week ago I still remember my favorite quote of the night. "There's no good parties here on Fridays," the girl sitting next to me said to a bunch of her friends before the show. I could only smile to myself and shake my head and wish I was ten years younger. I have found that going back to college when you are 30 is A LOT different than when you are just out of high school and experiencing the real world for the first time.
     I remember sitting there before the show with a notepad in my lap and a pen in my hand getting ready to take notes but as the lights went down I found that my notepad would be useless.  I didn't even want to try to write in the dark. I've tried that once and the outcome wasn't good.
     All the dances were wonderful but there are a couple that stood out. The first number was "Augmental Breakdown," performed by Katie Brauer, Claire Fisher, Jenna Harrington, Chloe London, and Rebecca Oberstadt. Choreographed and Projection designed by Cassie Burns, I found this number wonderfully fascinating because it was a piece that used video that was projected behind the dancers as they danced onstage. The video featured glimpses of the featured dancers as they practiced the dance that they were performing live. While some may wonder if the video would be a distraction to those on stage, the dancers never faltered and remained in sync with one another.
     A number known as "Runaway Trio," also stands out. Performed  by Sara Caplan, Alexis Cordella, and Emmie Hatfield (who collaborated w/ dancers when choreographing this number) and composed and performed by Alexander Chimienti. One reason why this performance stood out is because instead of dancing to a recording, the dancers were performing to live music from Chimienti. Another reason why this number stood out was because the dancers ventured out into the audience.
     Choreography can either make or break a dance number. No matter how good a dancer may be, if the choreography isn't good- the dance won't be as memorable as it could be. With the two numbers I have talked about in this blog post that certainly was not a problem. I will remember these numbers and that's a good thing.

Problems Only a Dancer Could Understand

All About the Department of Dance at The College of Brockport

     As the weeks go by, I've been thinking of interviewing some people that are involved with the dance department here at The College of Brockport. But before I do that I thought it would be interesting to just talk briefly about the department in general.
   
     The Department of Dance is housed in the entire three floors of the south wing in                            Hartwell Hall. Included in this space are the 280-seat  Hartwell Dance Theater and the 250-seat Rose L. Strasser Studio performance space. There's a wide opportunity for students, faculty and guest artists to choreograph, perform, and present work. Five spacious studios with audio and video capability, grand piano and sprung floors for classes and rehearsals seven days a week. The dance facilities include men's and women's dressing rooms and lockers, a dance conditioning room, heated health pool with barres and jets, costume shop and an extensive library collection for dance research.

    
     The Department of Dance at The College at Brockport is made up of artists, scholars, and educators who train dancers on the graduate and undergraduate level for a wide variety of careers in the arts as choreographers, performers, teachers, scholars, and leaders in the dance field. The students in the department’s highly selective degree programs excel not only in the studio and on stage, but also as critical thinkers, writers and teachers.

     Undergraduates with a strong foundation of dance training are invited to participate in the program by auditioning to enroll as dance majors or minors in the BA or BS programs, and are eligible to apply to the BFA program in the second semester. Additionally, the department offers three graduate degrees and serves a large number of students through courses that fulfill General Education requirements.

    
     If a student wishes to minor in dance they must pass a department audition. Three auditions are scheduled each year. The department also offers many non major dance courses which are open to students in all degree programs - no audition is required for this option.

     One of the first things one sees when they view the home page for Brockport's Department of Dance are the words "As a Brockport dancer you will excel not only as a mover and a maker, but as a thinker." As an outsider looking in, I truly believe that to be true.