NE dance students calling shots

By Matt Koper/ne news editor

NE dance students will direct and choreograph their final concert of the semester. 

The dance company Movers Unlimited will present its spring showcase at 7:30 p.m. May 10 in the NFAB theater on NE Campus.

NE dance company Movers Unlimited practice in the studio for four straight hours in preparation for the spring showcase. Photos by Brendon James/The Collegian
NE dance company Movers Unlimited practice in the studio for four straight hours in preparation for the spring showcase.
Photos by Brendon James/The Collegian

NE dance professor Kihyoung Choi said she wants students to lead the show so they have this experience for the professional world.

“That was the goal,” she said. “That was the vision, ‘cause if they learn how to direct a show, it’s going to be much more helpful for them. Even when they work as a performer and choreographer, they understand what’s going on behind the scenes.”

Choi said the students are in charge of all aspects of the show.

“They’re planning everything,” she said. “From creating the piqué, creating the program, the publication and rehearsing, and tech and dress rehearsal, everything is on them. They have to do it by themselves.”

Although Courtney Salas directs the show with Shawna Meeks and Mariah Maddox as the assistant directors, the entire company contributes to various aspects of the show.

“We pretty much just at the beginning of the year told everyone how it’s going to happen,” Maddox said. “We’d kind of dictate who was going to do what — who was going to do the programs or music. Things like that, we kind of allocated that around.”

Meeks said the company has been rehearsing nonstop.

Shawna Meeks comforts Mariah Maddox as both girls cry from exhaustion.
Shawna Meeks comforts Mariah Maddox as both girls cry because the dance was emotional.

“It’s basically like an every-other-day type of thing,” she said. “And even when we’re not rehearsing, we’re still rehearsing on our own time. So, it’s pretty time-consuming.”

Meeks said they use what Choi has taught them to help put together the showcase.

“We all help. It’s not just certain members,” she said. “We’re all known to be leaders. So, I think we kind of just watch what Kihyoung does just to be able to try to do as well as she does.”

All tickets for the show are $2. For more information,
contact Choi at 817-515-6638.