By Janie Hodney
Dance Works: A Concert of Dance has been a highly anticipated production within the UW – Green Bay’s Theatre & Dance program. Dance Works highlights student-choreographed pieces as well as pieces curated by Artistic Director Denise Carlson-Gardner. For the past three years, Dance Works has been on hiatus due to COVID-19 regulations, but this year, this event was back on April 6th.
Being on a hiatus from this production may seem discouraging, but Autumn Rettke, a current senior and major in dance, did not let this discourage her passion. Rettke stated that the hiatus has “heightened my drive to perform. My anticipated graduation was last spring, but I chose to wait so I could experience another Dance Works. And I am so happy that I did.” Rettke has only been able to participate in Dance Works during her first year at UW-Green Bay back in 2019. Since the hiatus, Rettke mentioned that there were “times throughout the three years that were disheartening, but I used them as motivation to ensure this performance was the best it could be.”
Taylin St. Mary, a current senior, dance minor, and performer in Dance Works, was affected by this hiatus. St. Mary explained that “not being able to perform has diminished each dancer’s ability to showcase our talents. This is the only opportunity that those within the dance department get to showcase what they have worked so hard for, and we were all ecstatic to have it back this year.” St. Mary came into school with this opportunity stripped from her time at UW-Green Bay due to the regulations of COVID-19. With regulations lifted, St. Mary was able to showcase how she worked during these years.
UW-Green Bay Theatre & Dance students have an opportunity to participate in Dance Works. They can choose to be a performer, choreographer, or as both. Autumn Rettke had the opportunity to be a performer, as well as choreograph two pieces, “Breath of Life” and “Arsonist’s Lullaby.” Rettke stated that she “started conceptualizing the ideas for both my pieces around spring of 2022. I began choreographing them last fall [2022] semester, and rehearsals began at the end of this January.”
A plethora of different pieces filled our evening., from the opening number, “Applause,” to a tap number, to the song “As It Was” by Harry Styles. Artistic Director Denise Carlson-Gardner and Technical Director David Cook were “proud” of their performers and Gardner’s choreography. Audiences enjoyed the level of professionalism shown throughout this production.
Rettke’s performance and choreography for “Breath of Life” told a story. Although the topic of her performance was not clearly stated, Nox Brewer, a current student of UW-Green Bay and Dance Works performer, mentioned their take on the performance being “the struggles of living with anxiety and panic attacks. Constantly fighting to be a part of the normality of the world,” and “thinking you finally have time to breathe and thinking you can be one with normality, it is quickly taken from you.”
Jasmine Christyne had three performances that she choreographed shown in this production. Her performance, “End My Holy War,” showed the struggles of drug usage and wanting to be free from addiction. A mash-up of songs by Dermont Kennedy and Kanye West was chosen. Christyne showed a talent throughout her performances, which will not go unnoticed.
The finale was choreographed by Denis Carlson-Gardner. With the performance titled “It’s Hammertime,” Jasmine Christyn was portrayed as MC Hammer, along with two bodyguards and a slew of backup dancers. This performance was upbeat and included all the dancers to finish up this showcase.
This production has helped provide students with an abundance of opportunities. St. Mary stated, “Being able to perform on stage again has been an amazing experience. It has helped me form connections with some amazing new people while also helping me gain more confidence in myself”. Rettke stated, “Dance Works, and dance in general, has given me so much throughout my time here in GB. I have since added an Individual Major in Dance and recently accepted a Dance Instructor position after my graduation.” Rettke also has plans to pursue an MFA (Master of Fine Arts) in dance in the near future.
Dance Works has shown that art will enrich our campus in the best way possible. Rettke stated, “Dance Works is enriching for the community. Each Dancer and choreographer has a distinct style and vision, and each piece touches on something different. While some of the pieces’ main objectives are primarily to entertain, a majority of them have deeper meanings and storylines that many people can connect with.”
All photos were provided by UW-Green Bay News and Marketing Department. Visit their website to see more pictures from this performance.
