Graduating dance majors will get to showcase their capstone projects at this year’s Senior Projects Dance Concert, hosted by the department of music and dance at Eastern Michigan University. This free event will take place Saturday at 4 p.m. at Pease Auditorium.
“It’s a really big deal for our seniors,” said Sherry Wilkinson, dance professor at EMU. “They’ve been working so hard on this.”
Seniors in the dance program at EMU are required, like in many other programs at the university, to complete a capstone project as a degree requirement before graduating. Each year the projects are showcased in the Senior Projects Dance Concert.
For dancers, this project requires them to choreograph a piece (or pieces) for the concert, cast the performance and hold rehearsals, as well as do all of the behind-the-scenes stuff for the show including marketing and technical work for the production. The project also includes written work as well.
“They’re doing all of this for a grade,” said Wilkinson. “They’ve really been developing these projects since September. It takes a lot of time and effort to choreograph and create a performance.”
Wilkinson said that many students begin brainstorming their ideas during the summer and come into the fall semester ready to begin working on the lengthy project. Rehearsals started at the beginning of winter semester.
The Senior Projects Dance Concert will feature nearly 40 dance majors and minors performing pieces created by the graduating seniors.
“It’s a really enjoyable concert, with a lot of variety,” Wilkinson said. “Each performance is unique to the student who created it. It’s all up to them. They get to decide on the dance, the music, costumes, all of it.”
The dance program is also using the concert as an opportunity to raise money for Relay for Life. Concertgoers receive free admission to the concert, but can make a monetary donation of their choice to support the American Cancer Society.
The event begins at 4 p.m. and will run less than two hours. Students who attend can also receive Learning Beyond the Classroom credit.
Wikinson encourages the EMU community to come out and see the concert.
“It’s a great opportunity for other students to see our dance program in action,” she said.
