Are you an incoming or prospective student with a passion for the visual and/or performing arts? Then this is the week for you! Every day we will be featuring a guest blogger, each with a unique story to share about the thriving artistic communities at UVA. The fifth blog comes from our very own Mia Bailey, the current president of the Virginia Dance Company!
I was a competitive dancer for the majority of my life, and when I came to UVA it was a little overwhelming trying to navigate what was the best route for me to take. I knew I didn’t want to do the dance minor at UVA, mostly because I don’t necessarily like modern dance and I didn’t think I would be able to fit it into my course load given the other majors and minors I was interested in. However, I was overwhelmed by the amount of student-run dance groups that UVA had to offer. When I was younger, I used to dance with a couple of older girls who ended up going to UVA. I texted them and asked which dance group they recommended I audition for. They were overjoyed to help me out (as most upperclassmen at UVA are) and told me that I should definitely try out for the Virginia Dance Company (DCO).
At the Fall Activities Fair, I entered the arts section and tracked down DCO’s table. I added myself to the listserv and they emailed me information about auditions for that following weekend. The auditions were pretty standard, we learned a one-minute contemporary piece and a one-minute jazz piece. After we learned each of the combinations, we performed them in groups of three in front of the entire company (approximately 45 dancers). Then at the end we were asked to do a special skill (jump, turn, leap, any acro trick, etc.). Thankfully, I got in and instantly had a group of amazing friends. Something that I love about DCO is that we are just as much a social organization as we are a performing arts group. We mix with other performance groups and club sports on grounds which is a really fun way to meet people, especially as a first year. This year I am living with a couple of girls from the company and I am so happy that dance was able to bring them into my life.
DCO has a show every semester that usually showcases between 10 and 13 dances. The main styles we focus on are jazz, lyrical, contemporary, hip hop, and ballet. We also do performances for UVA and the Charlottesville community throughout the year. My first year I was able to perform at Pancakes for Parkinson’s, Lighting of the Lawn, and was featured in the UVA Year in Review Video. Something that I also love is that because we are student run everything is choreographed by students in the company. It is really cool to learn from your peers; I came in absolutely stunned at how professional the choreographers were and how much I was able to learn. It was also a great way for me to realize I love choreographing and leading. The second semester of my first year I choreographed a short piece for the fourth years for their final show, and I’ve choreographed every semester since. DCO is absolutely my favorite outlet at UVA, it is such a great way to have scheduled exercise, time for creativity, and time with friends every week. It is also nice because the company is extremely flexible with how involved each dancer wants to be. Dancers sign up for what pieces they want to be in, and depending on how many pieces you sign up for, that’s how many hours of rehearsal you have per week. We typically practice on Sundays and so I am usually there for 4-5 hours because I try to be in at least 4 pieces every semester.
Here is the piece I choreographed in the Fall of 2019: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o_l0xnmCUQk
Below are the links to our website, Instagram, YouTube, and Facebook pages.
https://vadanceco.wordpress.com/
https://www.instagram.com/uva_dco/
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCuCNXiSCpTItRU_h_6WQoPA
https://www.facebook.com/virginiadancecompany
Blog by Mia Bailey, a third-year student at the University of Virginia. Contact her at meb8dh@virginia.edu with any questions or curiosities about dance at UVA!
No comments:
Post a Comment