New Dancemakers is a senior capstone project in which eleven graduating students research and choreograph a dance performance representative of what they have learned during their time at the Peck School of the Arts.
Students spend months focusing on a research topic of their choosing, often utilizing historical documentation and connecting with community members.
Brooke Allison Parkinson is a double major graduating with degrees in dance and American Sign Language. Parkinson wanted to make a statement about accessibility in dance and how it relates to Deaf culture in her piece, Open Your Eyes.
“My piece is really exploring how hearing individuals can be allies to the deaf community via listening to their needs and wants and immersing ourselves in the culture so we can meet halfway,” Parkinson explained. “It’s an educational piece and an enlightening piece to share the deaf perspective and their stories.”
As part of their ASL degree, Parkinson spent time with residents of Water Tower View, a senior housing complex for the deaf and hard of hearing. During that time, they were moved by residents’ stories.
“For this project, I asked some of the residents if they would be comfortable being interviewed,” Parkinson said. “The recordings of the interviews will be projected on stage with the dancers so their performance can give depth to the residents’ perspective.”
Maia Rose Correia-Fill is completing a BFA in dance performance and choreography. Her piece centers on the use of artificial intelligence and how technology can be used in the dance field.
“Last semester, I went to a dance conference and attended a workshop called Chero-GTP, which was about how to use ChatGPT to come up with choreographic scores,” Correia-Fill said. “It’s where I first got my idea for my senior project.”
Correia-Fill began her research on campus in collaboration with the UWM Connected Systems Institute, one of two AI research labs in the United States. As part of an R1 university, she was able to utilize resources within and beyond PSOA, exploring topics related to AI development and dance composition.
“I hope that my project will get the audience to think about the impact that AI systems have on their community,” Correia-Fill said.
Lina Conchi’s piece, the birds (of color) have to fly, takes audiences through the experiences of a Mexican American immigrant family spanning three generations.
“It portrays what living life is like being discriminated against and facing racism. Throughout this piece, each generation has a moment where they face what is happening,” Conchi said. “I found myself drawing parallels between birds and humans. The central idea of this piece is about people trying to find a better place, a place like home.”
When Conchi began her studies at PSOA, her main form of dance was Ballet Folklorico, a form of Mexican folk dance rooted in Indigenous, African, and Spanish cultures.
Over time, she began incorporating elements of ballet, African diasporic movement, modern, and contemporary dance into her practice. In addition to her evolving style, Conchi was inspired by stories of hardship shared by her older relatives.
“Both sides of my family are full of immigrants. My grandma and grandpa on my mother’s side were immigrants in their own land as Indigenous Mexican people, and my father is from near the Gulf of Mexico,” said Conchi.
“Seeing and hearing their stories inspired me to make this piece, and I hope I am able to truly tell my story to the audience.”
New Dancemakers runs November 19–22 at Mitchell Hall Studio 254. Tickets and more information are available at the PSOA Events Calendar.
Story by Payton Murphy ’27 (BFA Film)