Blending ballet, African and modern dance styles, UT’s Dance Repertory Theatre introduced audiences to “CYPHERS” on Thursday evening.
The performance consists of Department of Theatre and Dance B.F.A. candidates. Building on the resident dance company’s history of student-led productions, “CYPHERS” runs from Nov. 14-22. A celebration of resilience and community, the dancers engaged audiences in a kaleidoscope of colors, sound and movement.
“For the students performing, this is part of their curricular experience,” said Aysha Upchurch, the MC and narrator of the performance. “The faculty and the department do a really beautiful job to … offer the students different slices of movement. You have guest artists, you have new faculty, you have a student choreographer who all speak different movement dialects.”
Megan Davidson, student choreographer for the performance, said “CYPHERS” offered her a unique opportunity not afforded to most college students.
“This is my first main stage piece that I’ve ever done by myself,” said Davidson, a senior dance major. “It’s been a really interesting process and super challenging, but I’ve had the best cast and the most supportive people around me.”
Across four interconnected sections, “CYPHERS” combines various dance styles to form one unique piece. The theater’s producing artistic director EG Gionfriddo said in traditional concert dance, dancers perform in a single piece and only come together during the performance.
“The nature of this show has necessitated them rehearsing together the entire semester,” Gionfriddo said. “There’s been so much growth and community building.”
By placing audience members on all sides of the theater, “CYPHERS” breaks the mold of what a typical show looks like.
“In a sense, you see everything,” doctoral student Upchurch said. “You can see more of a performance. You can see more of an audience. I’m hoping that audience members remember that experience of reorienting themselves in a space.”
Beyond the layout, Gionfriddo said the performance aims to break the fourth wall between audience and performer interaction.
“You’ll see that (the dancers) are activating the space before the show even starts,” Gionfriddo said. “As the audience enters, they can be chit-chatting, inviting them to the dance floor, really breaking down those expectations of how you act when you come to a live performance. “
The opportunity to perform in front of an audience is necessary for growth as an artist, said Upchurch.
“You only grow your artistry because you can only grow your curiosity (and) your inquiry by actually putting it in front of others and feeling the feedback, getting the feedback and then taking that into your practice,” Upchurch said.
For student dancers like Davidson, performance extends beyond the stage.
“A lot of us are trying to become professional dancers,” Davidson said. “Looking at somebody in the face, watching their reaction, seeing them and having them see you …. that is a big part of our job.”
