The College of Wooster presents Spring Dance Concert April 13 to 15 with featured guest artist Hot Crowd

The College of Wooster’s Department of Theatre and Dance and the College of Wooster student Dance Company will present the annual Spring Dance Concert April 13 to 15 at 7:30 p.m. in Freedlander Theatre (329 E. University Street). Under the direction of Emily Baird, assistant professor of theatre and dance and Liv Mourning ’22, an intern in the Department of Theatre and Dance, the concert will feature a variety of pieces choreographed by students, staff, faculty, and featured guest artist Hot Crowd, a nonprofit dance company based in Chicago, Illinois. 

Established in 2017, Hot Crowd’s goal is to stimulate and inspire dancers and non-dancers alike through innovative movement, community interaction, and accessibility to strengthen and spread the art of modern dance throughout the Chicago area and beyond. Since its inception, the company has been invited to perform in several major cities throughout the U.S., including Chicago, Philadelphia, Detroit, and St. Louis, as well as outside of the United States in Seoul, South Korea. The dance organization has also created five self-produced shows and one professional dance for film. Other Hot Crowd programming includes dance workshops and residencies for students ranging in age from youth to adult, community dance classes, and collaborative events with other local artists and businesses. 

Wooster’s most formal dance event of the year, the Spring Dance Concert features a variety of distinct dance styles and artistic concepts, longer dance pieces, advanced student choreographers, and professional dance production. Student choreographers include Bee Bi ’23, Morgan Carson ’23, Katherine Shelmidine ’23, Gracie Shreve ’23, Sarah Snider ’23, Katie Spence ’23, Aliza Sosin ’25, and Josephine Fleischel ’26. In addition to the eight student-choreographed pieces and Hot Crowd’s guest presentation, the concert also features pieces choreographed by Baird and Mourning. The production is stage managed by Claire Alderfer ’24. Abby Aitken ’24 and Sophie Bruce ’25 serve as coordinators for the Dance Company, and additional students serve as dancers, costume designers, lighting designers, light and sound board operators, and wardrobe, props, and scenic crew. 

From Wooster’s 2022 Spring Dance Concert

Students involved in the Spring Dance Concert appreciate the opportunity to explore and develop their artistry and work with other students to create one-of-a-kind pieces of art. “I love seeing how pieces come together in the end, being completely unique to the dancers and their personal movement styles,” said choreographer Gracie Shreve ’23. Dance intern Liv Mourning added, “My dancers have been absolute gems for working with me through my complicated ideas and just letting go to try new things.” 

For choreographer Katie Spence ’23, this concert also serves as part of her Independent Study project. Spence, a senior majoring in theatre and dance and biology, combined her research on honeybees with her interests in dance. “My I.S. as a whole explores dance as communication in both honeybees and humans,” she said. “I wanted to explore turning the honeybee dance language into human dance and communicate the concept of honeybees’ communication to an audience through movement.” 

The box office for the Spring Dance Concert will open April 10. For more information, or to reserve tickets, visit the box office in Freedlander Theatre, call 330-263-2241, or visit wooster.edu/tickets. 

Photo 1: Hot Crowd dance company, courtesy of Hot Crowd

Posted in News on March 24, 2023.