A wide variety of original pieces will premiere at “New Dancemakers: Emanation,” a night of deeply engaging work choreographed by senior dance students at PSOA. “Emanation” marks a major point in senior dance students’ capstone projects, showcasing the skills they have developed in their undergraduate education.
Creative skills
Across ten distinct works, “Emanation” will present all that students have learned in their dance studies. One concept that will be especially noticeable is how the UWM Department of Dance is on the cutting edge of dance by inspiring students to move beyond traditional styles.
One student who benefitted from this exploration is Charlotte Reynolds. Her piece “80HD” frames people with ADHD through the lens of a 1980s, three-level video game. Noting how her creativity has grown since studying at PSOA, Reynolds felt compelled to fuse different dance styles to fully express herself and her art.
“Dance isn’t just about styles, anymore,” said Reynolds. “With the piece I’ve created this year… it’s like a fusion. It’s my artistry and my style. I feel like PSOA has taught me to open up my vision and mind to the different possibilities of dance and art.”
Reynolds also described feeling that she presents her well-rounded set of skills by merging different dance methods and techniques.
“Moving away from the traditional breakdown has definitely been a part of my journey at UWM,” said Reynolds. “Throughout my time, I’ve learned that I don’t just need to be one thing, I can do many things.”
Another individual who benefitted from a PSOA’s exploration of new styles of dance is Maya Hirsig-Smith.
“Teachers here have really opened my mind to freely expressing myself,” said Hirsig-Smith. “This dance department is really open to trying new things.”
At “Emanation,” Hirsig-Smith will present her piece “La beauté est en chacun de nous,” which explores how humans can feel beautiful and sexy in their own bodies without being sexualized. While the piece explores the positives and negatives, it aims to highlight the confident side of someone showing off their talents for their own pleasure.
Soft skills
Hirsig-Smith credited the foundational skills she picked up in her early composition and improv-based classes at PSOA as helping her generate ideas to complete her piece.
“The way a lot of people get writer’s block, we get dancer’s block,” said Hirsig-Smith. “I had a lot of that during this process, but I went back to my core skills a lot. I thought, ‘What have I done in the past that maybe I can use again?’”
Hirsig-Smith found ways to draw from past work while ensuring that she was “switching it up” to stay original and creative.
Another student presenting original choreography is Lia Smith-Redmann, debuting her piece “Americana: Labor Union,” which tells the story of the “unattainable” American dream and criticizes the ideology of working oneself to death.
“It’s a letter of respect to my community,” said Smith-Redmann. “It’s in honor of the working class and all of the labor strikes that have happened recently.”
Smith-Redmann said that the soft skills she developed at PSOA proved valuable in the creation of her piece.
“As a dancer and choreographer, you’re picking up technical and artistic skills, and learning how to build off your own interests and repertoire,” said Smith-Redmann. “Skills like how to work with people and respect dancer’s bodies… Those soft skills have been really important to my process.”
Through her work, Smith-Redmann fosters a collaborative space for her eight dancers, ensuring everyone feels respected and fulfilled.
Collaboration skills
In the New Dancemakers program, dancers receive weekly feedback from a diverse panel of experts across Milwaukee’s dance community.
“Cross-pollinating between dance and other fields is not only important to me personally, but on an industry level is really important,” said Smith-Redmann. “PSOA really invests a lot of time and energy into you as an artist… They’re really zeroing in on you, your craft, and what you want to say.”
Fellow student Megan Holzhauer also found the collaborative aspect of these weekly check-ins to be extremely valuable while creating her work, “Behind That Gleam.”
“I feel like we’re all a team and we all have each other’s backs,” said Holzhauer. “It’s great to be able to go to everybody and ask for advice and feedback… It’s great to get a fresh perspective from a diverse panel.”
Holzhauer’s piece centers on perfectionism among athletes. While she describes how perfectionism can help one excel, it also can overwhelm one’s daily existence.
“Perfectionism is very idealized,” said Holzhauer. “I really wanted to not only help individuals learn how to excel in a healthy way but also maintain a better well-being and overall experience in sports.”
Holzhauer has been sitting on her topic throughout her education, which has made the creation of her piece an exciting and impactful endeavor.
“This has felt like an accumulation of all four years,” said Holzhauer. “I honestly feel like I’ve had my New Dancemakers topic since freshmen year… There’s so much excitement around it.”
Reflection from Maria
Maria Gillespie (Professor, Dance; Graduate Program Director, Dance) is the artistic director for New Dancemakers and has worked alongside these students throughout their education at the Peck School.
As is the case for many dance faculty members, getting to see their students enter this final stage of their education is a special occurrence.
“Watching these seniors grow into singular artists with powerful motivation and deep care for their craft is by far the most rewarding experience of our work here in the Department of Dance,” said Gillespie. “These ten choreographers show all of us what embodied patience, rigor, empathy, and tenderness can become – really gorgeous artworks that glow!”
Gillespie has also noted how “Emanation” has been a labor of love and passion for dance students.
“The choreographers chose the title ‘Emanation’ because it unifies their unique paths and visions, describing how the knowledge and experiences gained here at UWM radiate through their dancing and future paths,” said Gillespie.
“New Dancemakers: Emanation” runs Nov. 20-23, 2024, at Studio 254 in Mitchell Hall. For more information and tickets, visit the PSOA events calendar.
Story by Jason McCullum ’25