Student choreographer pieces were highlighted at the 2024 Spring Dance Concert. The event took place from Apr. 17 until Apr. 20 at the J Scheidegger Center for the Arts.
14 graduating seniors worked all year to put their pieces on stage. The concert also included a piece from guest choreographer Renee Kester, a piece by the “Dance Ensemble” and a piece created at the “Special Topics: Advanced Hip Hop technique” course.
The concert was divided into two sections: “The Beginning of” and “The End”, and each was presented twice on the weekend. “The Beginning of” was shown on Apr. 17 and 19, while “The End” was shown on Apr. 18 and 20.
Even though the annual concerts always include guest choreographer pieces and choreographies created in class, the entire focus is on the seniors and the journey that they have gone through to get to the professional level they hold now.
“Throughout their time in our program, these 14 graduating artists have demonstrated an unwavering commitment to their craft, embodying the essence of creativity and collaboration,” LUDP Program Coordinator Tricia Zweier said. “These graduates are poised to grace professional stages with their remarkable talents, captivating audiences with their artistry and vision.”
Lindenwood’s Dance Program (LUDP), as many students affirm, is a family. Dancers see each other every day since they share most of their classes and they have built a sense of community throughout the years.
“Definitely my favorite part of being in LUDP is the group of people I’m surrounded by and how they inspire me and push me every day,” Ryherd said.
The pieces included a variety of dance styles and costumes. The audience was able to enjoy Ballet, Contemporary, Jazz, and Hip-Hop choreography during the evening.
“Choreographing for this concert was extremely bittersweet and love-filled,” Senior Dancer and choreographer Chloe Ryherd said. “I felt like my process and experience throughout was very fun and left me feeling extremely inspired by the people I have been working with.”
Dancers for the concert are cast by the Senior choreographers for each of the pieces. They look for passion, technique, and expression to be able to showcase their choreography with the best dancers in the program.
“This Spring Dance concert definitely inspired me for future choreography. This concert has encouraged me to expand on my future dance concepts and movements to hopefully make something that will have an impact on the dancers, audience, and myself,” Sophomore Dancer Lily Prescott said. “All of the pieces were so unique to each choreographer which was so beautiful and I’m thankful l was able to be a part of it.”
A total of 19 pieces were presented in this concert, and the Senior choreographers who created most of these dances were as follows:
- Brenna Mickley
- Alicia Orr
- Chloe Ryherd
- Sawyer Eddins
- Hannah Hopkins
- Delainey Bailey
- Ashley DeVincent
- Shelby Whitley
- Makenna Blough
- Sarah Smith
- Minami Kikuchi
- Sophie Blum
- Logan Guerra
- Allie Beck
“This experience helped me showcase how I’ve grown at Lindenwood throughout my time here,” Ryherd said. “I struggled with perfectionism when creating my piece but with that being the whole premise of my work, allowing myself to let go of that created room for creativity and inspiration for the movement.”
