Like a storyline from a dance flick, a group of Auburn dancers lost funding for their annual dance performance, but continued to dance and will now be showcased in Washington, D.C., at the Kennedy Center May 29.
Daunce, the annual dance performance, was cut from the Auburn theatre department's budget this year because of a lack of funding, said Natalie McCormick, senior in civil engineering and member of the dance group.
"I'm a civil engineering major, and dance is my outlet, my heart, everything," McCormick said. "Having that taken away was devastating at first, but we thought, 'Let's find a way around this.'"
Despite the loss of its annual performance, the group of dancers decided to learn a dance called "Colony," choreographed by Bill Evans, and perform it at the American College Dance Festival.
The Auburn dancers were one of 12 groups chosen to perform at a gala at the Regional Southeast Conference in Murfreesboro, Tenn., and from that performance are one of three groups chosen to perform at the Kennedy Center.
McCormick said the dancers put on the "Sit Down and Dance" production to replace Daunce.
"It was performed in the old Foy ballroom, and we didn't have lights," McCormick said. "We didn't have any theatrical aspects. We had to do our own costumes, but we did it anyway."
McCormick said most of the girls in the dance group are dance minors, but they practice on their own time.
"We have a very hard time finding rehearsal time together, and they can't always take a class, but their dedication and commitment made this possible," Wilson said.
Adrienne Wilson, assistant professor of theatre and the dance instructor at Auburn, had her mentor, world-renowned choreographer Bill Evans, teach eight girls "Colony," a dance he had previously choreographed at the beginning of this semester.
Breanne Maraman, junior in animal science, said "Colony" is based on the 18th Maori people, an indigenous tribal group in New Zealand.
Maraman said "Colony" incorporates things from everyday lives and gestures of the Maori people, who were a warrior people.
The dance is more of a cultural piece than a technical dance, Maraman said.
"The music is very tribal," Maraman said. "It's got a lot of rhythmic sections to it, and it's got a lot of drums in it. It makes you think of a tribe of people who haven't been civilized."
Maraman said the dancers funded the trip.
"Most of the colleges that have dance programs get funded to go to all of these trips and conferences," Maraman said. "We had to pay for transportation, rooms at the hotel, food and the registration fees."
Wilson said she is proud of the girls and that it is a high honor to perform at the Kennedy Center.
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