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| 1. What is your specific area of research (include the name of your faculty and/or laboratory)? |
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| Under the direction and
guidance of Professor Donald McKayle, the UCI Etude Ensemble has
had the opportunity to partake in research regarding marketing
and performance as professional dancers. In this field, technical
training as well as exposure to the community of dance is essential
in order to succeed. By traveling as a pre-professional dance company,
the ensemble has had numerous opportunities to perform for/with
top professionals in the field, take classes from master teachers,
and audition for professional companies, increasing our marketability
as dancers for the years following graduation.
As chair of the Bare Bones Dance Theater, I am also heading research pertaining to concert performance and choreography. With the generous help from UROP, we are able to produce a dance concert, completely independent from the Claire Trevor School of the Arts. This project includes finding a theater, stage managers, lighting designer, publicizing the event, auditioning the dancers, auditioning the pieces once the choreography is completed, raising extra money through fundraising for scholarships, creating a gala evening, obtaining music rights, and learning how to produce a professional dance concert. This is the fifteenth year that this project has been active in the undergraduate community and it continues to grow and improve each year. |
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| 2. When and how did you first get involved in research? |
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Two years ago, I wrote my first UROP Proposal
and received a grant for the Etude Ensemble to attend the International
Blacks in Dance Conference, in Dallas, Texas. We prepared one of
Mr. McKayle's works to be performed in the professional showcase
at the conference. We were the only semi-professional dance company
asked to participate in the showcase of established companies from
around the United States. In our four days at the conference, we
were invited to take classes with numerous master teachers, attend
honorary banquets, audition for summer programs, as well as professional
companies, meet and have conversations with some of the most prominent
dancers/choreographers of our time, and I began performing as a dancer in the Bare Bones Dance Concert my sophomore year. Through this experience, I got an idea of the process that was required to produce a dance concert. My junior year, I was fortunate to be selected to serve on the committee and take part in the development of the project. I also won the scholarship for my choreography in the show that year, encouraging me to produce more work as a choreographer. This year, I have been working with nine other committee members since day one of the current quarter to organize an anniversary concert to commemorate the work of so many undergraduates who preceded us in this journey, and created a basis for our research today. We just finished auditioning the dancers for the 23 interested choreographers, and we will hold auditions for the final casting in the seventh week of winter quarter. The Bare Bones Dance Concert for the 2002 season is entitled "Raw" and will be presented Mar. 14-16th. |
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| 3. How has research enhanced you education? |
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Through my experiences with the Etude Ensemble, I have not only had invaluable exposure to some of the top artists in the field of dance, but I have had the opportunity to perform, audition, and travel with the esteemed Donald McKayle, as part of a pre-professional dance company. As a student at the university, I would normally focus my attention only on the technical and performance aspects of dance, and rarely get an opportunity to experience life out in the field - to dance as a professional among colleagues. This is real-life application of our art form - applying the skills we learn in the classroom and discovering the expectations of a career professional. In regards to being prepared technically, the UCI Dance Dept. is outstanding. However, without the addition of this research, I would not be prepared to enter into the world of professional dance. The Bare Bones Dance Theater adds knowledge of the theater to my repertoire. Through the UCI Dance Dept., undergraduates are only presented with one opportunity to choreograph and perform in an all-undergraduate concert. The faculty is in charge of all the technical aspects that accompany our artistic creations, from selection of the pieces, to booking the theater, to lighting each individual piece. Moreover, there is a five-minute time limit for each piece auditioning. Through Bare Bones, I have been exposed to the intricate details required to produce a concert (lighting, costumes, fundraising, correspondence, grant writing, etc). We also have no time restrictions for pieces and we present two scholarships (costume design, choreography) to choreographers, voted on by their colleagues. It not only allows us individually to become aware of the attributes necessary to complete a production, but it creates a strong community of undergraduates who will continue to support and grow with one another throughout their years at the university. |
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| 4. What has been you favorite experience with research (include any interesting stories or specific events)? |
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This past summer, the UCI
Etude Ensemble was granted a research award from the Undergraduate
Research Opportunities Program to attend an international modern
dance conference in San Luis Potosi, Mexico. I cannot describe
how amazing this week was! As one of the only American dance companies
to be invited, we were completely immersed in the historic culture
of the city. There were performances twice each evening where we
could compare and enjoy the traditions of Mexican modern dance
to the American aesthetics. We lived in a completely Spanish-speaking
area where we had to depend solely on one person from our group
to relay our messages in broken Spanish. Another unusual aspect
of Mexican concerts is that they do not include an intermission.
Therefore, when we took an intermission halfway through our show,
half the audience began to leave because they thought the performance
had ended! However, we did perform an entire evening's work, which
was extremely well received, and we are invited to return again
this coming summer - perhaps without an intermission. |
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| 5. What are your future plans and how has being involved in research helped to prepare you to meet your goals? |
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As a performer and choreographer, I am moving
to New York in August of the coming year, following graduation,
where I will pursue a career as a professional dancer. In becoming
familiar with certain companies and people involved in these groups,
I will begin sending in applications for summer programs and auditions
in the area. Before beginning research in these areas, I was unaware
of most of the companies I am now actively pursuing. I was even
unsure whether I wanted to join a professional dance company or
not. However, working in a company environment, with an inspirational
director, I have found that working in such a way challenges me
as an artist and allows me to develop my own expression within
the group. Through working with the choreographers and master teachers
affiliated with professional companies, I have discovered groups
that inspire and motivate me as a performer. In finding these companies,
I can now begin the process of establishing myself in the dance
community and auditioning for them as often as possible. From this
form of action, I hope to begin work in a modern company as soon
as possible, and hopefully test out some choreographic opportunities
as well. |
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| 6. What advice would you give to a student interested in pursuing a faculty-mentored undergraduate research project or creative activity? |
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Find something that you feel passionately about,
whether you are considering it as a career or not, and research
it. I used to think that research consisted only of writing a long
thesis on a subject that you knew nothing about. However, I have
since discovered that taking a workshop, attending a conference,
going abroad, and composing a piece/concert are all valid examples
of research in various fields. I guess I'd like to reword "research" to
be named "fieldwork." Get out there and discover what
you love to do before you graduate! It may surprise you… and
make life a bit more interesting… |
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