by Blythe Ford, Messenger Staff Writer

DanceWise: Human Nature will be performed at the Tennessee Williams Center from Friday, Nov. 13 to Nov. 15. DanceWise is a collaborative dance production that functions as a combined student and professor project within the Dance program at the University of the South.

Each production features many styles of dance, the majority of which are choreographed by students, with this year also including a tap sequence created by Courtney World, Professor of Dance at the University of the South, and a Hip Hop dance by guest artist Carmen Savage from the University of Memphis. Other dance styles in DanceWise: Human Nature include contemporary ballet, contemporary/modern dance, and jazz. All dances center around a theme; in this case, what it means to be human in the digital age.

As with every year of DanceWise, student choreographers and performers take the center stage. This production is performed by 20 student dancers, seven of whom are also choreographers. The choreographers are students Vivian Boyd, Jane Edmunds, Naho Katsumura, Annabel Lamm, Gracie Moore, Lara Georgia Guimarães Noronha, and Nico Richards, as well as World and Savage providing their own dances and professorial oversight.

The performers and choreographers might be the most visible stars, but they are not the only people collaborating to make this production. Through the efforts of a student stage manager, four student lighting designers, one staff lighting designer, a student costume designer, and two staff costume designers, the theme is brought to life on stage. Lighting effects, costumes, and dance all combine to convey a message–and entertain, of course.

With styles ranging from the very structured ballet and tap to the more contemporary and freeform hip hop, the production will ebb and flow with energy. The strength and skill of the dancers will be on display; skill, which is even more impressive with the knowledge that due to the schedule of the guest artist, the closing dance was likely learned in a very short span of time.

This production closes with the Hip Hop sequence choreographed by Carmen Savage. Savage is a Memphis native who now teaches Dance at the University of Memphis. She has featured in several major productions, music videos, and competitions, including being part of the Monsters of Hip Hop cast in 2016. Certain music and sports fans may also be interested to know that she danced in Drake’s “Worst Behavior” music video and several halftime shows for both football and basketball. Savage’s background in dance started as a teenager with a street style called Memphis Jookin, and continued throughout her formal education. The piece she choreographed is high-energy, just right to get you hyped for your drive home.

DanceWise: Human Nature may close with a bang, but it starts at 7:30 p.m., Nov. 13-14, and 2 p.m., Nov. 15, in the Proctor Hill Theatre inside the Tennessee Williams Center. Like most Department of Theatre and Dance productions, admission is free but seating is limited inside the theatre. Book your tickets on Eventbrite <eventbrite.com> to secure seats for your preferred performance.