Axe ’Em, Jacks!
NACOGDOCHES, Texas — Stephen F. Austin State University’s dance program will showcase senior choreographic works during its production of “Danceworks: Ethos” at 7 p.m. April 30 in the HPE Complex Dance Studio, Room 201, on the university’s campus.
Additional showings are scheduled for 7 p.m. May 1, and 3 p.m. May 2. Eight choreographic works will be performed by four seniors and four independent study dance students preparing for their senior year.
Admission is free for SFA students with ID. Tickets cost $5 for non-SFA students and children; $8 for faculty, staff and senior citizens; and $10 for general admission. Tickets can be purchased at the door.
Danceworks serves as the capstone course for dance seniors and features tap, jazz, and modern and contemporary dance.
“The production teaches students a variety of skills other than choreography,” said Heather Samuelson, dance program co-coordinator and assistant professor in SFA’s Department of Kinesiology and Health Science. “Students learn how to cast a show, promote a performance, design lighting, select costumes and edit music.”
The production’s theme “ethos” explores concepts ranging from all-encompassing space to the harnessing of happiness.
“As a choreographer, I have learned more about myself and talent,” said Jesse Ochoa, a senior from Harlingen who focused on insomnia for his work. “Danceworks has given me the confidence to present a part of myself through my art.”
Ashley Washington, a senior from Katy, said her work on this production felt very personal.
“My topic, overthinking and overanalyzing, is something that has affected me my entire life, and it has been very refreshing to put my thoughts into movement,” she said. “The process of being a choreographer has taught me to be patient with others and myself. My artistic ability has not only been pushed but enriched. I have only grown positively, and I am very grateful for this experience.”
Chesney Garza, a senior from Galveston, choreographed a work about how sound affects behavioral and cognitive abilities.
“I wanted to create something that I enjoyed doing yet challenged me and my dancers,” Garza said. “It has pushed me to break boundaries and apply myself as a choreographer. This has been an exciting experience, and my dancers have done an amazing job bringing my ideas to life.”