Friends, family and over 70 dancers packed into Helfaer Theatre this past weekend for Marquette’s largest dance organization, Dance Inc.’s, fall semester show titled, “Dancing in the Moonlight.”
The shows took place on Dec. 6 at 4 p.m. and Dec. 7 at 11 a.m. The shows were over 2 hours, with two acts and a 15-minute intermission. There were 31 dances total plus a game of trivia and a silent auction.
A variety of dance styles were represented in the show, from jazz, contemporary and hip-hop to artistic skating and a guest act from Marquette’s K-Pop dance group, raDIANCE. All dances were choreographed by students in the organization.
Dance Inc. President and senior in the College of Communication Erin Fricker said she works with the other six members of the executive board to put the show together. At the beginning of the semester, this means watching audition, collecting choreography submissions, scheduling spaces for each dance to practice, organizing lighting and sound design and creating ticket links and costumes.
Unlike other dance organizations on campus, members do not need dance experience to join Dance Inc., and there are no cuts. Each dance in the show program is listed with both the style and the level – beginner, intermediate or advanced.
“We have a really wide range, so we have dancers that have competitively danced their whole life and people that have just started dancing in college,” Fricker said. “It makes for a really great environment, because it’s such a wide variety of people with different areas of expertise and experience.”
Vice President and senior in the College of Arts & Sciences Maggie Lasher emphasized the importance of inclusivity and diversity in Dance Inc.
“I’m just excited to see everyone on stage having fun, that’s what it’s all about at the end of the day, just seeing all of your hard work pay off,” Lasher said. “We have a lot of people that haven’t danced at all, so it’s really special to see them find that love of dance that everyone else has too.”
The show opened with “Dancing in the Moonlight” by Toploader, a 16-person dance choreographed by sophomore in the College of Arts & Sciences Annie Titterton. All sixteen of those dancers were choreographers of one or more dances in the show.
After a short word from Fricker and Lasher, the first act continued with “Jonny,” an advanced jazz dance piece choreographed by Jada Williams, a graduate student in the School of Dentistry.
“Industry Baby,” a 14-person advanced Hip Hop dance to the song by Lil Nas X and Jack Harlow, choreographed by graduate student in the Clinical Mental Health Counseling program Ryan Lardner, came towards the end of Act 1 and left the audience hyped up for the next dances. Cheers erupted from the audience as each dancer had a solo moment in the number.
The second act opened with “Copacabana,” by Barry Manilow an intermediate jazz piece, also choreographed by Titterton. This dance had 18 dancers and carried the high energy.
Each dance had different costumes, all of which were paid for by the dancers themselves, but Fundraising Chair and junior in the College of Nursing Laurel Bergendorf added that the costumes did have a price cap.
“The main thing is that our dancers don’t pay [dues],” Bergendorf said. “It’s really accessible to everyone, so we just do a lot with donations and fundraising.”
Bergendorf said they make the most money at their show, by selling concessions and their silent auction which came halfway through the second act and consisted of several different gift boxes donated by dancers’ family members.
The show ended with “Moon Girl,” by Ha Vay an 18-person advanced lyrical dance choreographed by graduate student in the College of Health Sciences Cari Nelson and followed with bows from the 74 members of the organization.
You can look out for events and learn more on Dance Inc.’s Instagram.
This article was written by Annie Goode. She can be reached at [email protected].
