by Blythe Ford, Messenger Staff Writer

The University of the South Department of Theatre and Dance will present their annual DanceWise production Nov. 13-15 at 7:30 p.m. and Nov. 16 at 2 p.m., in the Proctor Hill Theater at the Tennessee Williams Center. DanceWise is a collaboration between students and faculty, with students providing most of the driving force behind a production featuring many styles of dance centered around an anchoring theme. This year’s theme, “Mystique,” invites choreographers, dancers, and viewers to reach beyond reality into the nebulous world of imagination. Primarily student-created choreography interprets this theme through styles such as contemporary/modern, tap, jazz, hip-hop, contemporary Paraguayan, and modern-flamenco fusion. If you intend to attend, you are encouraged to reserve your seats with free tickets via Theatre Sewanee’s Eventbrite page; DanceWise draws a crowd and seating is limited.

Professor and DanceWise artistic director Courtney World speaks glowingly of this year’s performance. “Each year, the caliber of student choreography and performance goes up and I believe this is one of our strongest dance productions to date.” DanceWise is collaborative not just in terms of participation, but also direction and design: each dance is created by paired choreographers and designers who coordinate dance, light, sound, and costumes to, in World’s words “create cohesion within each dance piece as well as the production as a whole.” The six student choreographers (Izzy Grass, C’26, Talia de la Cruz, C’26, Lara Georgia G. Noronha, C’27, Lucas Montiel Chaparro, C’28, Nico Richards, C’28, and Phoenix Tillman, C’28) have worked since last May on their dances and contributing to the artistic vision of Mystique.

As for the theme itself, World said, “I was curious about how choreographers might explore the indescribable, ephemeral, even magical realm of possibility in their dances that takes us beyond what we understand or universally hold as true. I invited student choreographers to lean into the potential of their dances to transcend language and tangible experiences, and to embrace the world of imagination where not everything is as it seems…” This experience is enhanced by the work of student lighting designers Wayne Medley and Wesley Inman, student costume designers Ivy Francis Moore and Sophia James, and the faculty supervision of Jordan Vera, Danielle Silfies, and Jennifer Matthews, to create an overall sense of unreality in the production.

World is excited in particular by the diversity of dance styles offered this year, especially the presence of flamenco in the program. Guest choreographer Noelia Garcia Carmona visited Sewanee for a few days in early October to create a new modern-flamenco fusion dance, which will be performed by some of the 24 student dancers. Carmona is a dance educator, performer, and choreographer with more than 30 years of experience in Spanish Dance, flamenco, and contemporary dance, educated in her home city of Barcelona, Spain. She now live in Memphis, Tennessee and continues to choreograph, educate, and perform many styles of dance but flamenco in particular. Her contribution to DanceWise follows the pattern of previous productions, allowing students to be exposed to entirely new styles of dance beyond what the University normally offers. In addition to this dance and the student choreographed dances, World will be performing a tap-violin duet with guest artist Jeremy Ramos.

DanceWise: Mystique will be a unique and exciting experience for everyone involved. If you are interested in attending any of the Nov. 13-16 performances, visit the Theatre Sewanee Evenbrite page and reserve your free tickets.