School of Performing and Visual Arts
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Freshman Repertory Dance Company REPERTORY DANCE COMPANY ACDA
Freshman Repertory Dance Company
Choreography by Stacy Reischman Fletcher (Faculty)
Student Showcase
What is the Freshman Repertory Dance Company?
Freshman Repertory Dance Company members take DAN 220, a class taken in dance majors鈥�
first semester. It is a structured rehearsal process that leads to a public performance.
At the completion of this course you will have a better understanding of the creative
process and program expectations for professionalism.
In DAN 220, students are members of the "Freshman Repertory Dance Company" and work in rehearsal with a faculty member as they set a new contemporary dance on the Freshman Repertory Dance Company. Students become better performers through this process and are exposed to the collaborative nature of choreography. This experience prepares you to successfully audition for the Repertory Dance Company. The Freshman Repertory Dance Company performs choreography excerpts at High School Dance Day and the entire dance at the December Student Showcase Concert.
Repertory Dance Company
Student Work: Casey Collier, Junior
RDC I Spring 2019
What is the Repertory Dance Company?
The Repertory Dance Company (RDC) was established to provide performing opportunities for dance majors and to promote excellence in dance performance for our students. As company members, students gain experience in the protocol and standards of professional concert dance helping them prepare for careers in the field.
RDC provides an opportunity for dance majors to gain valuable performance experience and to become further prepared for professional careers in dance.
- RDC assessment standards are built on the rigorous expectations of the professional field in the areas of skills, knowledge and dispositions (professionalism) required;
- RDC performs in all major departmental concerts and works with faculty, student, and guest choreographers;
- All declared University dance majors and minors (except for first-semester students, and dance education majors who are student teaching) are required to audition for the company each semester;
All dance majors are eligible to audition for RDC beginning in the second semester of study as a dance major. However, students must maintain an unweighted 2.5 GPA in dance courses in the previous semester.
Auditions for RDC are held during the first week of the fall semester and last week of the fall semester (for spring enrollment). They are led by the RDC Director.
- All eligible dance majors are required to attend. We suggest arriving early to warm-up and sign-in, and to dress in proper dance attire with hair pulled out of face.
- The auditions include two main phrase sections highlighting physical awareness and control, recall and memorization, technical skill/execution, and professionalism.
- The company list is posted on the same evening as auditions. Dance majors may be accepted as full company members or as apprentices. The same high expectations are maintained for both. All accepted company members must attend the casting audition.
- Company members are expected to meet with the RDC director to discuss the full expectations of company. This typically happens in a group meeting scheduled by the RDC director. Dancers who do not make company may sign up for a time to meet with the RDC director to discuss ways to improve in future auditions.
If you are eligible to audition for RDC in the spring, you will either be cast in RDC or Repertory Dance Company II (RDC II). This course includes learning, collaborating, and performing in faculty or junior/senior dance major choreographic works. The dancers must attend rehearsals and maintain professionalism. Some works are featured in the Student Showcase Concert in the spring semester, and/or other venues.
Other Opportunities
American College Dance Association (ACDA)
Each year the USM dance program attends . During the conference, students meet other dancers, take master classes, attend dance concerts featuring other college students and professional dancers/companies, etc.
- The dance faculty chooses up to three choreographic works to represent the dance program. Student choreographers may submit applications to have their work considered.
- Two of the three works will be in the adjudicated concerts, where we can have one faculty work and one student work OR two student works. The adjudicated works receive feedback from three dance professionals. The dance faculty also chooses one choreographic work for the informal concert. This can be a student or faculty choreographed work.