From four new auditioners last semester to 24 this semester, CHOREO Dance Crew has shot up in popularity. The questions arise: How did CHOREO gain popularity so quickly? What lies ahead for this up-and-coming group? Interviews with CHOREO’s three directors — College third-year Annalise Curl, College fourth-year Evelyn Williamson, and College fourth-year Julia Stuart — lend insight into CHOREO’s history, present, and future.
CHOREO is a multi-genre dance group that draws considerable inspiration from hip-hop. In addition to the crew’s hip-hop influences, members have diverse backgrounds of jazz, contemporary, and other forms of dance. Directors and dancers collaborate to create a piece they perform at the end of the semester.
“I like to describe it now as the chameleon of the dance groups, where it changes with every new wave of dancers and directors and what styles they bring to the table,” Curl said.
The three directors are navigating a challenging but rewarding transition into their leadership roles, which come with increased responsibility. Stuart described her trajectory from being a choreographer for CHOREO to becoming a director.
“I’ve been a choreographer for CHOREO since my [first] year here,” Stuart said. “We were handed being directors with nothing and had to figure it all out — we were given an index number, and that was it.”
In an email to the Review, Williamson expressed similar thoughts on directing and pointed out her co-directors as an invaluable source of support.
“This is the second semester I’ve ever choreographed in my life and the first time my choreography has been used during auditions!” Williamson wrote. “I’ve found that Julia and Annalise are really good at taking over my tasks when I just can’t do it, and I try to, of course, do the same for them when they get overwhelmed.”
CHOREO has existed for many years, but the new directors are working hard to transform the group and create a long-lasting legacy for future members and directors. They spent the summer leading up to the fall semester organizing their dance piece. They also had many conversations about how to adequately resolve issues CHOREO has had addressing the cultural origins of different dance styles.
In 2022, Review Editor-in-Chief Nikki Keating published “Whiteness of Student Dance Showcase Should Be Questioned,” critiquing how CHOREO and other performers in the showcases, despite being a majority-white group, danced to songs about Black culture and struggles in one of their spring 2022 performances. CHOREO’s current directors took that article as a chance to reflect on how to approach hip-hop in a way that respects its origins.
“I have done a lot of reflecting since my [first]-year where I was part of the CHOREO dance titled ‘In Our DNA’ where our group performed to the Kendrick Lamar song, ‘DNA,’ that was not in any way appropriate for us, specifically me, to dance to,” Williamson wrote. “I felt and feel so ashamed of myself for my actions with that dance. But it is in these times of shame that I reflect on Keating’s final paragraph of the article where she says, ‘If you feel uncomfortable reading this piece, I hope you channel it into educating yourselves and others.’”
Williamson and the other directors plan to create a safe space for dancers that does not ignore CHOREO’s history, but rather uses it as an educational experience.
“We need to recognize: where are we getting these moves from?” Curl said. “Who made the spaces that now allow us to dance and have fun?”
CHOREO’s directors note greater enthusiasm this semester than in previous semesters. Part of this change in energy is due to the directors’ efforts in marketing their group. At the connections fair, Curl, Stuart, and Williamson wore matching t-shirts, played inviting music, and handed out candy. The auditioners also contributed to the spike in enthusiasm.
“There’s just been an energy with a lot of first-years this year that are really hungry to dance,” Curl said.
The directors are excited to practice and perform their piece this semester.
“Our primary goal always is to create an inclusive and supportive space for dancers and to build a nice community,” Stuart said. “Because that’s really what I needed first when I was entering college.”
