Dance Science Program To Host Students From Across The Country With Regional High School Dance Festival
High school students from across the country will visit Texas A&M University for the Regional High School Dance Festival from March 8-11, hosted by the School of Performance, Visualization and Fine Arts’ Dance Science program.
Students from 21 high schools across Texas, Florida, Louisiana, Pennsylvania, Georgia, Colorado and Wisconsin will get to experience first-hand what the program has to offer, according to Carisa Armstrong, program director and associate professor. Armstrong said she is excited the university is hosting the event for the first time.
“I think this experience is great for these high school students, because up until creating the school, arts at Texas A&M have been hidden,” Armstrong said. “Being able to host this event now that we have a School of Performance, Visualization and Fine Arts is a really nice way to highlight and say, ‘Look at all of the opportunities that are here, and the growth that is happening.’ This is an exciting time for A&M in general and this new renaissance of the arts — so it’s nice to have this festival as a highlight.”
Over the course of four days, high school students will be immersed in the dance culture of Texas A&M as they attend classes, workshops, lectures, rehearsals and performances.
To kick off the festival on Friday night, students will see a dance performance by Christopher K. Morgan and other artists titled “Native Intelligence/Innate Intelligence,” presented by the Academy for the Visual and Performing Arts.
Saturday morning will kick off an audition process for students seeking admission to college programs or summer intensives with recruiters from schools and companies across the country, Armstrong said. Students may also be offered scholarships, she said.
Students will have an opportunity to learn ballet, tap, jazz and modern by faculty members in dance programs from around the country. Some lectures presented by faculty in the Dance Science program will cover common misalignments for dancers or conditioning injuries, showing students there is more to dance than just physicality, Armstrong said.
Saturday night will conclude with a Student Choreography Showcase, where high school students in the festival can present their choreographic work.
“The Student Choreography Showcase is a really nice way for those budding choreographers to get their work seen,” Armstrong said. “And it’s a nice way for recruiters to be able to see people that maybe have already excelled in choreography.”
Sunday’s events include workshops, lectures and two concerts. The concerts have a mix of student choreography and faculty guest artists from all over the country, Armstrong said. The works were selected by a group of adjudicators, she said.
“They chose works representative of very strong dancing and very strong choreography,” Armstrong said. “On the final day we will have classes in the morning and finish the festival with the Gala Concert, which are the top pieces that the adjudicators chose to really highlight for the festival as kind of the best of the best. They will also give out student choreography awards, and potentially announce specific scholarships.”
Armstrong said she is thrilled to visit with prospective students while also providing a space for them to learn and gain new experiences. She hopes the festival gives students a better idea of their future plans and goals.
“Walking around and seeing what it is like to be here on campus can be really helpful,” she said. “It can help a student decide, and provides an opportunity to interact with recruiters from all over the nation. These classes we are offering can also help build a connection that is hard to do in a traditional audition process. This whole experience creates stronger bonds, and gives them more information about what it is like to work with certain faculty on a day-to-day basis.”
All performances are open to the public in Rudder Auditorium, and ticket purchases are available at the MSC Box Office website.
For more information and schedules, visit the Regional High School Dance Festival website.
