LMU Senior and dance major Jovan Dansberry just wants to communicate.
That’s what he and nine other LMU dancers did at the Kennedy Center in Washington D.C. earlier this year, when they performed CLOSE(R), a modern dance that depicts the human emotions of love, anger and friendship, as well as the enduring bond of family.
The LMU dancers earned the Washington trip with a stand-out performance at the American College Dance Festival Association Southwest Regional dance festival in Tempe in March. The LMU group is one of about 30 that appeared at the Kennedy Center, winnowed from the more than 350 member institutions that presented their best works at 10 regional festivals around the nation.
“This was the national showcase of the best college programs in the country,” said Damon Rago, associate professor. “It was a magical weekend in Washington for LMU. The students, the choreographer, Judy (Scalin, department chair) and I, and by extension, the department and the university itself, were unanimously hailed as powerful forces in collegiate dance. It was an honor to perform there.”
Joining Jovan from the LMU Dance Program in the Dept. of Theatre Arts and Dance were: Graduating Seniors Felicia Kelley and Cheryl Smith; Current Seniors Ellie Biddle, Jesse Chin, Miesha Gantz and Lauren Cannon; and Current Juniors Mackenzey Franklin, Charles Roy and Shae Stanton. CLOSE(R) was choreographed by Mike Esperanza, a part-time faculty member.
Both Franklin and Roy were cited by the judges for their performance. The judges said that “Franklin embodied the movement vocabulary of the work from her core, creating ease and effortlessness in what was physically demanding choreography. While part of a quartet, she was able to shine without detracting from the work of her colleagues; instead she enhanced their dancing.” Roy was praised for having “a strong and dynamic stage presence. He deftly integrated break-dance movement within his contemporary movement vocabulary.”
More than 50 schools presented programs in Tempe, and three other schools from the Southwest Region performed at the Kennedy Center. Rago emphasized that more than a competition, the ACDFA is a celebration of dance, where young performers get to meet, share, and perform for their peers. It is also an opportunity for the young artists to learn by participating in the classes and workshops that are a key part of the regional and the biannual national festival. It took place May 27-29.
Jovan, who started as a business major before switching to dance, found the trips truly rewarding experiences. “We were with new faculty and students. It was a huge community where everybody gave each other support. It was cool.”
Jovan chose dance as his major because it integrates his emotional, physical and intellectual sides. “Dance keeps me in tune with myself and it is how to communicate without words,” he said. “Non-verbal communication is how to know people the best. In dance, we are not just sitting in class, we are communicating and interacting with our bodies.”
