DanceScapes '15 hands students an opportunity to grow

March 02, 2015

The slap of hand hitting hand punctuates the rhythmic, melancholic cello that fills the room. An acoustic version of Sting's "Fragile" sets the tone as six dancers focus intently on their teacher.

"Are you guys ready? Are you guys ready to work the floor?" she says, and then pauses. "I'm asking. Are you ready?"

The teacher stands, neutral but resolute, waiting for the dancers to respond. Then she leads them through choreography that highlights the performers' hands. They trace the path of a falling leaf, evoke a lotus flower opening and closing, and mimic the grounding fluidity of tai chi.

The teacher is Onye Ozuzu, the featured guest artist for this year's DanceScapes. A professor of dance at Columbia College Chicago, Ozuzu is known for her African-based contemporary dance technique. Featuring Ozuzu -- as well as work by UW-Whitewater students and faculty and under the artistic direction of Lecturer Amy Slater -- DanceScapes '15 will captivate audiences in one of the most popular performances on the Barnett Theatre stage, in the Greenhill Center of the Arts, on March 15-17.

Dancing under Ozuzu's direction are students Jazelynn Goudy, Rasell Holt, Jordan Kalis, Shakeva Oliver, Jenessa Patterson and Laura Schoenike.

The production is a significant commitment for its dancers, choreographers, set designers and others.

"By the time I'm done, I will have spent 50 to 60 hours in the studio rehearsing this piece," Goudy said.

The senior from Milwaukee, whose dream is to be a college dance professor, appreciates how Ozuzu helps the dancers interpret the piece through the qualities of their movements.

"It makes me think, how can I internalize the dance and bring me and the dance out through my body?" she said.

Working with a choreographer of Ozuzu's caliber gives the students a chance to stretch. When a knee injury diverted senior Rasell Holt from his path to the Marine Corps, he came to UW-Whitewater from Milwaukee and tried theater and dance for the first time. He says DanceScapes provides an opportunity to "work with someone you haven't worked with, an interesting journey of figuring out your body's capabilities."

For Laura Schoenike, a senior from Oconomowoc who is also choreographing a piece in the show, the opportunity "caught my eye because it involved styles -- African and Modern -- that I have virtually no experience in. When you learn a new style, you learn a new way of working with people, a skill that you can apply to things well beyond dance."

The performers are aware that what they learn in the studio carries through to other parts of their lives.

"Doing DanceScapes helps you get comfortable with being uncomfortable. You never know what will come from it," said Holt.

Goudy extends the challenge.

"I'd encourage other students to be open and to take risks. To step outside their comfort zones," she said. "It's OK if you don't have the best technique, if you don't have any experience with a certain kind of dance. Be open to other ways of dancing; it will add to your repertoire and make you more open to differences."

As the dancers in the studio work through a challenging passage one more time, music students with string instruments in hand pause to view the rehearsal through a full-length window. Ozuzu watches quietly from the side, searching for a certain quality. She smiles, satisfied.

"OK!" Ozuzu says, "I'll take that. Fantastic."

For tickets, visit www.uww.edu/cac/theatre-dance/dancescapes-15.