Hello Dancers!
Well, we're fully back in the 100mph swing of things here at the Grand Central School of Theatre and Dance! The semester is off to a truly rapid start as we move towards our McGinnis MainStage show. We just got through our first full run of the show just before midnight last night and it's going to be fabulous, complete with gun shots, unrequited love, tap dancers in swim flippers, pyrotechnics and, of course, all the amazing costumes, spectacular lights and GORGEOUS dancing of our own dance majors. It's incredible to watch the work ethic of the dancers and crew members in action. Thank you, everyone!!! But the thanks that everyone appreciates most is when we have packed audiences of enthusiastic patrons, so I hope you are inviting your friends and family to come out to see the show. They'll be glad you did!
And now, on with the rest of the blog!
ANNOUNCEMENTS
SoTD SCHOLARSHIPS
Please be advised that we must submit the School’s scholarship assignments to the Foundation this year much earlier now than previously; therefore, students must submit applications by FEBRUARY 13th 2015. The application and related instructions can be found at http://www.ecu.edu/cs-cfac/theatredance/Scholarship-Information.cfm Fill the application out carefully and completely, put it in an envelope to the attention of the appropriate program area (Acting, Musical Theatre, Dance, Design-Production, et al.) and turn it in to Connie Ballance in the School office by the deadline. Please remember that even if you have received a scholarship in the past, you must apply to be eligible for scholarship consideration for the following year.
NOTE - the deadline was previously listed as 2/14. This date, though taken directly from the SoTD website, is incorrect. The deadline is 5pm on Friday, 2/13.
Please be advised that we must submit the School’s scholarship assignments to the Foundation this year much earlier now than previously; therefore, students must submit applications by FEBRUARY 13th 2015. The application and related instructions can be found at http://www.ecu.edu/cs-cfac/theatredance/Scholarship-Information.cfm Fill the application out carefully and completely, put it in an envelope to the attention of the appropriate program area (Acting, Musical Theatre, Dance, Design-Production, et al.) and turn it in to Connie Ballance in the School office by the deadline. Please remember that even if you have received a scholarship in the past, you must apply to be eligible for scholarship consideration for the following year.
NOTE - the deadline was previously listed as 2/14. This date, though taken directly from the SoTD website, is incorrect. The deadline is 5pm on Friday, 2/13.
UPCOMING EVENTS
DANCE 2015!!!
Come out to see our annual McGinnis MainStage show this coming weekend! As always, we have a fabulous mix of work on the program. There's literally something for everyone! And special thanks to our amazing guest artists, Ronin Koresh and Joe-Joe Smith, for bringing their powerful and inspiring hip hop and contemporary works to the program! Performances are Thursday-Saturday at 8pm, Sunday at 2pm, and Monday-Tuesday at 8pm. Send everyone you know to ECUARTS.COM to get their tickets TODAY!
FRESHMEN/SOPHOMORE JURIES
The juries for the freshmen and sophomore classes (including transfers) will take place on 2/23 at 5:30pm. As mentioned in a previous blog post, the jury process will involve a center combination and a combination across the floor in ballet, and then center combinations for both modern and jazz. All of the combinations will be covered in classes prior to the juries to allow dancers to do their best work. The jury will also involve several fitness components:
Come out to see our annual McGinnis MainStage show this coming weekend! As always, we have a fabulous mix of work on the program. There's literally something for everyone! And special thanks to our amazing guest artists, Ronin Koresh and Joe-Joe Smith, for bringing their powerful and inspiring hip hop and contemporary works to the program! Performances are Thursday-Saturday at 8pm, Sunday at 2pm, and Monday-Tuesday at 8pm. Send everyone you know to ECUARTS.COM to get their tickets TODAY!
FRESHMEN/SOPHOMORE JURIES
The juries for the freshmen and sophomore classes (including transfers) will take place on 2/23 at 5:30pm. As mentioned in a previous blog post, the jury process will involve a center combination and a combination across the floor in ballet, and then center combinations for both modern and jazz. All of the combinations will be covered in classes prior to the juries to allow dancers to do their best work. The jury will also involve several fitness components:
- Endurance will be assessed by having dancers perform the ballet across, modern and jazz combinations twice in succession.
- Alignment and flexibility will be assessed as related to specific pre-defined actions in the dancing.
- Strength will be assessed via a few specific exercises, including pushups, releves, developpes, etc. These will be covered in your modern and jazz classes prior to the jury but you should be training outside to make sure you can fulfill these basic requirements of dance fitness.
We hope that these juries will serve as a positive force for helping all of you achieve your goals in the art form that you love. We want you to succeed! : )
CEDAR POINT
Lisa Jones from Cedar Point will be holding a master class in pop/commercial dance techniques for dancers on 1/30 from 4-5:45pm in the ST. There is a sign up sheet posted on the ST doors but there are only a few slots left so make sure you sign up soon! Everyone who signs up is guaranteed a spot but please don't sign up unless you are committed to attending. And on Saturday, 1/31, there are auditions for all the various positions available at Cedar Point for the coming year. The dance only audition is at 4:00 PM in the Ballet Studio. There is a sign up for this 4:00 call also on the ECTA board. Please check the Cedar Point website along with Michael Tahaney's recent email for details on the rest of the auditions and interviews.
SENIOR CHOREOGRAPHY CEDAR POINT
Lisa Jones from Cedar Point will be holding a master class in pop/commercial dance techniques for dancers on 1/30 from 4-5:45pm in the ST. There is a sign up sheet posted on the ST doors but there are only a few slots left so make sure you sign up soon! Everyone who signs up is guaranteed a spot but please don't sign up unless you are committed to attending. And on Saturday, 1/31, there are auditions for all the various positions available at Cedar Point for the coming year. The dance only audition is at 4:00 PM in the Ballet Studio. There is a sign up for this 4:00 call also on the ECTA board. Please check the Cedar Point website along with Michael Tahaney's recent email for details on the rest of the auditions and interviews.
Auditions are just around the corner (2/21 at 12pm) and the Senior Solos performance will be announced soon! Keep an eye on callboard for details as you don't want to miss seeing our seniors dancing at their best!
ENTRANCE AUDITIONS
Dance program entrance auditions are this coming Saturday, 1/31, from 9-3:15pm. Members of ECDA will be supporting the auditions but please consider volunteering to be help out with some aspect of the day. As you know from experience, the auditions can be a bit daunting for the dancers, so the more friendly smiling faces we have on hand the better! Please contact John Dixon or Kelsie Jayne for information on how you can help.
Dance program entrance auditions are this coming Saturday, 1/31, from 9-3:15pm. Members of ECDA will be supporting the auditions but please consider volunteering to be help out with some aspect of the day. As you know from experience, the auditions can be a bit daunting for the dancers, so the more friendly smiling faces we have on hand the better! Please contact John Dixon or Kelsie Jayne for information on how you can help.
CONGRATS!!!
Congratulations to the absolutely amazing dancers in Dance 2015! Every dancer in this show has worked incredibly hard to perfect the material while serving the vision of their choreographers. The hard work has definitely paid off as the dancing is absolutely phenomenal. Thank you, dancers, for bringing our dance art to life - we couldn't do it without you!!!
Congratulations to the student choreographers selected to have their works shown at the upcoming Contemporary Concert (2/28 & 3/1) - Erica Bolick, Bridget Corrigan, Nicole Gemmell, Sarah Kleinke, Jazlyn Moore, Kanon Sapp and Megan Rhodes. I'm extremely happy to have so many excellent works of student choreography on the program. Well done, everyone!!!
: )
Danie JohnsonSenior Dance Performance Major
ECDA Secretary
And...
John Dixon
Dance Area Coordinator
