Julia Weber
Staff writer
The School of Dance’s PreProfessional and Festival dancers have been working tirelessly ahead of this weekend’s student gala showcase.
“It’s going to come down to the wire. It should be a pretty exciting show,” said Sasha Janes, the Bonnefoux McBride Artistic Director of Chautauqua School of Dance.
At 3 p.m. Sunday in the Amphitheater, the students in the School of Dance will take the Amp stage to perform a selection of ballet works demonstrating what they’ve learned in the few weeks since they arrived at the Institution.
René Olivier, a faculty member in the School of Dance, said working with the students is intense because of the time restrictions they face, but that is simultaneously a “testament to their incredible ability.”
“They really rise up to the occasion,” she said.
Janes said the dancers have the experience of learning from a wide variety of faculty who bring different styles and techniques to the dance studio. Particularly, the presence of program alumni — who came to the Institution during Week One for the annual All-Star Dance Gala — was a tremendous asset for young dancers to learn from.
For Janes, the most impressive part of what the dancers have achieved so far this season is the quantity of work they have mastered, which Janes said is “pretty astounding.”
“It is intense, but honestly, they really are so incredible, these young dancers,” said Olivier.
Further, she said that the broad collection of different works the dancers learn is particularly impressive because they are very young.
“It’s amazing what they do,” she said. “They’re really young, they’re just emerging into that intermediate level. They’re still 11, 12. That’s very young.”
According to both Olivier and Janes, the dancers particularly excel when their personalities shine through.
“Once their personalities start to manifest themselves, or we see them, then they’re freer to dance — so you see more (of) what they’re capable of,” Janes said.
“I really try as much as I can to get a feeling for the individuals in the room,” said Olivier. “It’s oftentimes very difficult because, just as human experience, sometimes you don’t immediately get a feel for someone. Sometimes it’s after the second, third interaction that you get to know the person, so that’s very difficult, but I try as much as I can to get a sense of the overall strength in the classroom.”
Though the weeks are short and fly by, performance experience is a priority for the program. For Olivier, the emphasis on performance is about providing students with experiences and skills they can use as they continue their careers. She said many students in the program in years past have returned to Chautauqua time and time again.
“It’s so dramatic to see the growth and the maturity,” she said. “They’re developing into beautiful dancers. It’s very, very rewarding and exciting.”
