By Sarah McMillin, Staff Writer
Susquehanna University Dance Corp’s annual showcase, this year titled “Dance Dance Evolution,” was held on April 6 in Weber Chapel Auditorium.
For Dance Corps president, senior Hannah Witt, this year’s showcase was a dream come true.
“I have always held dance close to my heart,” she said. “Dance Corps has been a safe space and a place of growth and development throughout my college career. I would not change my time with this organization for the world.”
Tara Montis, another senior in Dance Corps, also emphasized the impact of Dance Corps on her personally.
“Being a part of SUDC has played a huge role in my college career,” Montis said. “It has given me the ability to continue doing what I love to do and show everyone the beauty that is ballet [and] dance in general. Showcase is just a way that I can further express my love and passion for dance.”
“Nothing makes me happier than being able to do the thing I love for the entire school year and then getting to show all our friends and family our hard work from the year,” said senior Lindsay Kraft. “Performing is what we love to do, so Showcase is always a blast.”
Senior Abbie Steinly echoed similar sentiments.
“Being in Dance Corps has allowed me to continue improving my dance skill and technique through college,” Steinly said. “Performing in Showcase gives us the opportunity to show how hard we’ve been working all year to the rest of the campus community.”
“Finally stepping on stage with my friends and fellow dancers after so many weeks of perfecting our routines is an amazing feeling,” Steinly continued.
Junior Morgan Dartnell also highlighted what Dance Corps does for students outside of teaching.
“It has simultaneously given me a home, a platform to express myself in an artistic way and lifelong friends that I couldn’t see my life without,” Dartnell said. “Dance is a huge part of who I am and Showcase gives me the ability to show everyone exactly that.”
Sophomore Samantha Schwarz noted the diverse amount of students involved in Dance Corps.
“[There] is the wide range of people that are involved; some people have been dancing their entire lives and some people didn’t dance at all until they got to college,” Schwarz said.
Schwarz continued to talk about the opportunities this specific showcase gave her.
“Specifically for me this year, being able to be a choreographer and see my vision come to reality on stage and to play a role in teaching [and] sharing my love of dance with everyone is really cool and such an awesome opportunity.”
In addition to Schwarz, choreographers for this year’s show included Witt, Montis and Dartnell and seniors Nikki Anderson, Tara Montis, Amy Couch, Donique Haynes, Megan Ruge and Ashleigh Tomcics and junior Alyssa Gehris.
The show consisted of 30 numbers in total and featured performances from student-taught dance classes, solo and group performances and performances from the Susquehanna University Dance Team. The executive board and choreographers for Dance Corps also performed on their own.
