ACDC presents Fall Dance Concert

KYLE SCHECK
PHOTOGRAPHER

KATIE THOMAS
STAFF WRITER

11/25/2024

Alma College Dance Company (ACDC) held its annual Fall Dance Concert last weekend. They presented seven pieces that varied in style and inspiration, including contemporary pieces, traditional Kiltie dances and a performance by the Alma College Dance Team. They held showings both on Friday, Nov. 15 and Saturday Nov. 16. ACDC has been working towards this performance since they arrived in the fall. 

“My favorite part of the dance concert is seeing all the pieces come together, I am so excited for people to see it,” said Gwen Patterson (‘27). 

The concert was choreographed by dance faculty Kayt MacMaster and Allison Murad and guest artist Lynn Bowman; David Dorfman from David Dorfman Dance Company in New York also attended as a guest choreographer along with his assistant Corinne Lohner.

“The best part of the process is watching the dancers’ extremely hard work pay off. I love to see them look excellent on stage. I love to see them proud of themselves when the concert is over” said MacMaster.

David Dorfman choreographed the intense dance titled “…passing by.” Dancers learned this piece over a week’s time with an intensive practice that spanned from 6 p.m. to 10:30 p.m. throughout the week. 

“It’s very different from all the guest pieces anyone has ever been in,” said Patterson. 

Faculty member Allison Murad choreographed the two Kiltie dance pieces, “Loch Lomond” and “Caledonia.” 

“I was inspired by a more traditional Highland Dance approach for this concert. Both pieces involve a lot of traditional movements and music, using songs from Scottish artists,” said Murad. 

“There was more versatility than the other highland dances,” said Noel Nilson (‘27), a highland dancer. 

“My favorite part of this semester was learning new choreography with the freshman and being able to have fun performing together since we usually compete against each other,” said Nilson. 

Lynn Bowman has been a guest choreographer for about a decade. For this fall concert, she choreographed “Patient They Grow.” Her piece was inspired by poetry and movement. 

“What was really cool about our dance was that we helped write the poetry at the beginning and end of the dance after learning all the choreography. We were able to write based on what the dance was about and how it flowed” said Abby Shaub (‘28). 

Assistant Professor and the Director of Dance at Alma College, Kayt MacMaster choreographed “Still in the Wake of Things” a solo piece performed by Emily Zatelli (‘26).

“I believe that with being part of the creative process it was easier to gain a deeper understanding of the movement,” said Zatelli.

“We put [in] countless hours and change the choreography over and over again. There is always a point in the semester where the dance clicks and everything falls into place. Being able to finally flow through the dance without placing immense thought into new steps that we just learned is really rewarding as a dancer,” said Zatelli.

 MacMaster also choreographed a piece entitled “(Down) The Hall.” 

“It came from curiosity about certain American folk dances like contradance and square dance,” said MacMaster. Some of these performances will be performed at Oakland Dance Festival on Saturday, Nov. 23rd, and at the American College Dance Festival in March. The Alma College Dance Company will be taking a small break heading into winter break, but they are already planning what their spring auditions, schedule and spring concert will entail.