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Social Media Accounts Involving BYU Dancers
Grants Awarded to 2 BYU Dance Faculty from the Center for Latter-day Saint Arts
Assistant Professors of Dance Rachel Barker (L) and Keely Song (R) both received grants in the dance category, among several CFAC faculty in other disciplines and categories. See Keely’s work Covenant Keepers on YouTube. Rachel’s piece is currently being finished. It’s a collaboration via Zoom with students McCall McClellan in Provo and Maddie Butler in California. Read more…
Students McCall McClellan and Maddie Butler via Zoom.
New Class for Fall 2020: Advanced Writing for Dance
Have you completed your Advanced Writing and Oral Communication GE requirement yet?
If not, the new Dance 317: Advanced Writing for Dance is for you!
When: Fall semester, MWF, 8:00-8:50am
Who: Best taken sophomore year, but open to any student who has fulfilled the Freshman Writing requirement
What: In this class, you will learn how to:
- observe and describe live dance performance;
- research current trends in dance, and use that research to influence others;
- write winning grant applications to fund your dance projects.
Why: Research shows that BYU students enjoy discipline-specific Advanced Writing courses more than standard Advanced Writing courses. This will be a fabulous class that teaches you the specific writing skills you will need throughout your dance career!
Contact Marin Roper (marin_roper@byu.edu) with any questions.
(Team taught with Professor Shelli Spotts of the Department of English in the College of Humanities — faculty photos above).
Get Involved! Apply Now to Become a DMSR Council Member!
If you’re a current dance major, apply now to be a 2020-21 DMSR! It’s a great way to serve and to get involved!
What’s a DMSR you ask? Dance Major Student Reps make up a council of BYU student dance majors who represent all the dance majors in an official BYUSA club. They serve for 1 year, meet twice a month, can earn extra scholarships and are the go-to student leaders for the BYU Department of Dance faculty and staff.
Their official role is “to generate ideas for major activities and communicate mutual concerns between dance majors and faculty. We also aim to help connect students with peers, information, and services that will enrich their university experience and enhance their future dance involvement.”
Now accepting applications for the following positions:
Vice President (Junior)
Dance Ed Rep
Dance BA Rep
Dance BFA Rep
Secretary
Folk Rep
Ballroom Rep
Ballet Rep
Contemporary Rep
SDEO Rep (Student Dance Education Organization – for Dance Ed majors)
Pictured are last year’s talented DMSRs, lead by President Sasha Chopelas! New applications for the coming academic year are being accepted now, and will be closing on Wednesday, July 15, 2020.
We would love to see all dance majors get involved! There are more opportunities to serve throughout the year, as well, for any student who wants to help or meet new friends. Ballet, Tap, and Hip Hop clubs have meetings and masterclasses throughout the year. Preview Day for transfer students and high school seniors also affords students ways to contribute and reach out to new or younger students.
BYU Dance students from various genres prepare to share their enthusiasm and knowledge with prospective students at Preview Day 2019.
Introducing Your New BYU DMSR President…
Tera Taylor Egbert!
Tera Taylor Egbert is the BYU Department of Dance’s newest student president of the Dance Major Student Representatives (DMSRs)!
Originally from Sacramento, California, she is a Dance Education major with an emphasis in contemporary dance. She has performed with dancEnsemble, Kinnect Dance Company and Contemporary Dance Theatre. During summer 2019, she attended the Contemporary Dance Study Abroad around Europe and loves to be involved in the dance major. She is so excited to take on this leadership role this year and to get to know more dance majors and pre-majors in the department.
“It is really fun and enjoyable to plan events for the dance majors,” Tera said. “You get to build connections with the dance majors and incoming freshmen. You get to know the faculty as you plan events, and it looks great on a resume and also looks great when you are applying for the scholarship in the dance department because it shows your involvement in the dance department.”
Tera is excited to review applications for DMSR Council members for 2020-21. Apply today with the Google form. Applications accepted through Wed, July 15, 2020. It’s a great opportunity to serve and to get involved!
“I choose to dance because it is part of who I am.”
~ Tera Taylor Egbert
To Our Dance Family…We Are Listening
To Our Dance Family,
The BYU Department of Dance is taking these words of BYU President Kevin J. Worthen (See full statement here) to heart by preparing ongoing actions to bring about changes addressing racial injustice and inequality.
The recent letter from Ed Adams, dean of the BYU College of Fine Arts and Communications (CFAC), to students and faculty states:
“I hope as a community we are committed to change, not just making statements… Despite our good intentions, we know we all need to be better and do more to dismantle these poisons in our society. Now is the time for us to listen, learn and do our part, and we are committed to a sustained effort.” ~ Dean Ed Adams, CFAC
As dance faculty we celebrate diversity and acknowledge that we have work to do to assist in creating changes for a more just society, in our classrooms, on our stages and within our community.
In the meantime, we invite you to keep watch on our social media accounts as we celebrate some of the diverse dance voices that have impacted and contributed to our department.
~ Your Department of Dance
Comments are welcomed and encouraged below.
“We need to foster fundamental respect for the human dignity of every human soul regardless of their color, creed or cause. And we need to work tirelessly to build bridges of understanding rather than creating walls of segregation.”
~ President Russell M. Nelson, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints
(See his full statement here from The Church News, June 1, 2020, or his social media accounts.)
New Dance Space Construction has Begun in the RB!
It has begun! A new, large dance room is under way for students and faculty to spread out and enjoy for this coming Fall Semester!
Department of Dance Chair, Professor Curt Holman has shot this brief video footage showing the beginning of the reconstruction in the RB upstairs. The ballet faculty offices (formerly known as the F wing, next to RB – 285) have already been demolished!
This video begins at the doors to RB -185 (no shoes allowed on the floor!) and pans left across what used to be the bulletin board, then to the hallway leading to Shani Robison’s and Shayla Bott’s offices and all down that corridor. To the left of those offices is what used to be the public relations office, with all the news articles on the walls and the display case with all the professional faculty photos. To the left of that, also demolished, is the dancer’s lounge which used to have a printer and the plaid wing-back chairs.
This whole space will now be another HUGE dance room where movement can take place in classes where you need to get up, spin, jump — and now — social distance a bit! ; )
The department is so excited for this room to come to fruition. We all look forward to seeing your faces soon and enjoying this space! In the meantime, check for these videos periodically so you can see the forthcoming progress! Curt gets better with his iPhone camera work every semester as he documents the amazing upgrade projects to the dance facilities, theatre foyer, dressing rooms, and more for BYU Dance! 😉
BYU Assistant Professor of Dance Rachel Barker Releases Dance Film Trailer
Assistant Professor of Dance Rachel Barker couldn’t wait any longer to premiere the release of her new dance film, Sedimented Here. So she created a pre-release trailer — just a sample of the dancing and depth — to show off her students and the amazing cinematography in her project!
In her own words:
“Sedimented Here is a dance film shot in Moab, Utah, which explores relationship between the moving body and outdoor environment, asking, “What movement belongs here?”
“The three BYU student dancers — McCall McClellan, Abby Trinca and Jared McClure (now graduated) — immerse themselves in the red rock, water and sand as the perspective shifts from intimate close-ups to grandiose panoramas, bringing the viewer into this visceral desert world.”
“I am so grateful ❤️ to the incredible crew that made this thing what it is: @gazellengram DP and Editor, @waltmirkss drone and 2nd cam, @mccall.mcc@abbyraytrinca Jared McClure —performers and choreographic collaborators, @scott_cook789 producer and trailer edit, @soundformovement and Troy Sales— sound design, @brookedurow colorist, @harrisontrinca production assistant and still photographer.
“And of course, thank you so very much to @byucfac @byudance @byucontemporarydance for the funding and support, also without which, this film would not exist! This crew is just the best. Enjoy!” ~ Rachel Barker
The trailer is just a snippet of what’s to come. Barker hopes to premiere the entire video in an event this Fall Semester on BYU campus.
Additional Video Credits:
Music: “Cello suite no. 1: Prelude” by J.S. Bach, performed by @estellerevaz
Director: Rachel Barker
Director of Photography/Editor: Ellen Maynard
Performers: McCall McClellan, Jared McClure, Abby Trinca
Sound Design: Troy Sales and Michael Wall
Colorist: Brooke Durrow
Producer: Scott Cook
Production Assistant: Harrison Trinca
Read more about the creation of Sedimented Here in this article by Morgan Reis on August 19, 2019, from the BYU College of Fine Arts and Communications.
Karen Jensen’s Dance Video Class Projects are Epic!
Check out the BYU Dance YouTube Channel here, and find these projects under Student Works (published in the last month)!
Contemporary Dance adjunt faculty Karen Jensen is proud of the students in her Winter 2020 Dance and Film class — and for good reason. They’ve expanded their creativity beyond their usual dance genre and plunged into the ultra-competitive world of film making. All this was during the pandemic upheaval that started mid-term in March.
“As you know, winter semester had such an unusual finish,” Jensen said. “Rather than working in groups for the final project, the majority of the students did their final film on their own. They came up with FABULOUS films.”
“My dance and film students did a wonderful collaboration with dancEnsemble this semester,” said Jensen. “But, of course, the concert was cancelled due to COVID-19. In the process, 12+ videos were made that were supposed to screen throughout the concert.”
Some of those dance videos from the class have been posted around various social media platforms. Two are premiering Friday, May 23, 2020, on the BYU Dance YouTube channel, so you can see the students’ solo work here (under Student Works, published in the last month and on Friday, May 22, 2020).
Jensen is excited for her students’ creativity to reach a larger audience. “These students are so great and talented!” she said.
Photos:
BYU student Issac Moras, with his claymation film, “Experdanza!” BYU student Brynn Foote creating her film, ““Less Than Lonely: A Teddy Bear Ballet,” which was featured in the Salt Lake Tribune’s Quarantine Film Festival in an article here!
New Summer Term 2020 Online Dance Classes
New BYU Dance Online Classes:
Dance 351 ~ Section 001 ~ Laban Movement Analysis
- Instructors: Kate Monson & Marin Roper
- MTWTh
- 8:00 – 9:20 a.m.
- 2 credits ~ online ~ Summer Term 2020
- *Enrollment must be approved by instructors and faculty advisor
Dance 500 R ~ Section 001: Workshop in Dance
- Instructors: Nathan Balser & Adam Dyer
- MTWTh
- 10 – 10:50 a.m.
- 1 credit ~ online ~ Summer Term 2020
- *Highly recommended for fitness, embodiment and readiness for auditions and movement courses.
- May count towards Dance BA technique credit requirements per faculty advisor approval.
Dance 500 R ~ Section 002: Workshop in Dance: Methods of Teaching Contemporary Dance
- Instructors: Kori Wakamatsu & Rachel Barker
- MWF
- 11:00 a.m. – 12:50 p.m.
- Variable Credit:
- 1.0 credit ~ online only Summer Term 2020
- 2.0 credits ~ online Summer Term AND Fall 2020 lab hours
Dance 500 R ~ Section 003: Workshop in Ballet
- Instructor: Ryan Hatch
- MTWThF
- 2:00 – 3:30 p.m.
- *Highly recommended for fitness, embodiment and readiness for auditions and movement courses.
- May count towards technique credit requirements per faculty advisor approval.
Contact dance@byu.edu or your faculty advisor for more information.
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