CANYON, Texas — The power of art, the frenzy of daily life, the exuberance of falling in love and the surreal landscape between sleep and consciousness all will be explored in the spring performances from West Texas A&M University Dance.
“Portraits of Dance” is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. April 25, 26 and 27 and 2:30 p.m. April 28 in the Happy State Bank Studio Theatre inside the Sybil B. Harrington Fine Arts Complex on WT’s Canyon campus.
Tickets are $12 for adults, $8 for seniors and non-WT students, and free for WT students, faculty and staff with a Buff Gold Card.
Twenty-five dancers will perform seven works in a variety of genres choreographed by guest artists Kathryn Sydell Pilkington and Jeannie Hill, as well as WT faculty members Crystal D. Bertrand, Staci Clay Hall, Sandra Miller and Edward R. Truitt.
“After rehearsing diligently on these individual dance pieces, ‘Portrait of Dance’ is a wonderful opportunity for our dancers, choreographers and designers to share their work,” said Crystal Bertrand, WT Dance program coordinator. “This concert displays a wide range of dance genres, each unique to the choreographer.”
“Hypnagogia: The State Between” was set by Pilkington, who is the co-founder and co-artistic director of Company E, during her appearance on campus as part of WT’s Distinguished Lecture Series. Hill is a faculty member at University of Wisconsin–Stevens Point.
“It’s so exciting to work with all of the different choreographers for this show, especially the guest artists,” said Jamison Uselding, a senior dance major from Amarillo. “It’s great to see the differences between their rehearsal processes and the differences in their movement styles. ‘The State Between’ is different from anything I’ve ever done here, so I’m especially excited for it.”
“As students learning to choreograph ourselves,” said Noah Johnson, a sophomore dance major from Temple, “it really gives us more to draw from.”
Dance majors in the performances also include Alyssa Acosta, a junior from El Paso; Kaleigh De La Cruz, a junior from Chicago; Amon Fredinand, a junior from Amarillo; Krisanne Freeman, a sophomore from Amarillo; Marisa Garcia, a sophomore from Corpus Christi; Nova Gore, a sophomore from Amarillo; Camila Jimenez, a sophomore from Fort Worth; Eden Lovett, a senior dance major from Amarillo; Jayden Lucas, a sophomore from Amarillo; Anna Martin, a sophomore from Midland; Alexandra McPhillips, a senior from Conroe; Hannah Metzger, a freshman from Perryton; Matthew Miller, a senior from Lubbock; Fantasia Morgan, a freshman from Roswell, New Mexico; Kaitlyn Roberson, a junior from Pampa; Maia Soto, a sophomore from El Paso; Lorelai Stager, a junior from San Antonio; Zakyya Taylor, a senior from Lubbock; Gisselle Torres, a junior from San Antonio; Maddy Welch, a junior from Lubbock; and Zarek Womack, a sophomore from Christoval.
Non-dance majors performing include Sarah Gil, a junior psychology major from El Paso, and Caleb Martinez, a senior musical theatre from Seagraves.
Fostering an appreciation of the arts is a key component of the University’s long-range plan, WT 125: From the Panhandle to the World.
That plan is fueled by the historic One West comprehensive fundraising campaign, which reached its initial $125 million goal 18 months after publicly launching in September 2021. The campaign’s new goal is to reach $175 million by 2025; currently, it has raised nearly $160 million.
