‘Fall Studio Sessions’ Presents a Semester of Growth and Collaboration
Performance Dec. 4-5 displays talent of 7 student choreographers, more than 40 dancers.By: Noelle Simone ’26 Monday, November 18, 2024 11:12 AM
Student Muhlenberg College choreographers and dancers will be presenting seven new dance pieces that encapsulate their journey as young artists, in “Studio Sessions,” a dance concert to be presented Dec. 4-5 in the college's Dance Studio Theatre. Under the guidance of artistic director and dance professor Lisa Busfield, students create dance works that highlight their growth as artists and creative leaders.
“For several of these choreographers, it’s their first time setting a piece in a collegiate setting,” Busfield says, “so it’s really refreshing to work with them as they discover their individuality and identity as choreographers.”
Lindsay Sherrick ’25, associate artistic director, says she is thrilled to invite audiences to watch these dance works. She highlights the privilege it has been to witness the unique artistic voices of each choreographer develop through the rehearsal process.
“As these choreographers gain a sense of how their own artistic process works, it's really exciting to watch them trust themselves and trust us to guide them,” Sherrick says. “This is such a rewarding process because they are informing me as much as I am informing them.”
Choreographer Sophia Wentz ’27 was inspired by the Enneagram test, which is a personality quiz that assesses and categorizes an individual's personality traits, motivations, and behavioral tendencies. During Wentz's process, she had her dancers take the test and based the piece around the personalities of each dancer.
“I would like for audiences to see how we are not defined by labels,” Wentz says. “Rather, they can provide us with validation for our feelings and make up different parts of our unique, individual personalities.”
Choreographer Danya Helperin ’25’s piece sparked from her encounter with the piece’s music, which explores emotions of anger and frustration. In the intimate setting of the Dance Studio Theatre, Helperin is playing with proximity between audience and performers and the specificity of movement and facial expression.
“It lets the emotions of a piece smack the audience in the face,” Helperin says. “There's such a small degree of removal from the performers that whatever they're exuding inherently interacts with the audience in some capacity.”
Choreographer Alyssa Sipman’s ’26 process has been really eye-opening to see how inspiration strikes when constructing a piece. Sipman came into her process wanting to focus on the idea of loneliness in her piece and is surprised to see how her dancers have influenced the essence of the piece itself.
“My process is definitely shaped by the dancers that I am working with, from both the technical side in looking at their strengths and skill sets as much as looking at the emotional and storytelling aspect of the piece,” Sipman says. “While I certainly had some ideas for the piece going into this process, I could have never expected exactly where it would go.”
“I find it exciting to mentor students,” Busfield says. “It is not only the choreographers going through their own process into discovery, I am also learning about collaboration with them at the same time.”
Other featured choreographers include Marissa Cohen ’25, Lucy Rudnick ’27, Sammie Smith ’27, and Clare Wiersma ’27.
Fall Studio Sessions runs December 4-5 in the DST Studio, Trexler Pavilion for Theatre & Dance, Muhlenberg College 2400 Chew St., Allentown.
Performances are Wednesday, December 4 and Thursday, December 5 at 7 and 9 pm. Tickets are $15 for adults; $8 for patrons 17 and under; and $8 for students, faculty and staff of all LVAIC colleges.
Tickets and information are available at 484-664-3333 or muhlenberg.edu/seeashow.
About the Muhlenberg College Theatre & Dance Department
Muhlenberg offers Bachelor of Arts degrees in theatre and dance. The Princeton Review ranked Muhlenberg’s theatre program in the top twelve in the nation for eight years in a row, and Fiske Guide to Colleges lists both the theatre and dance programs among the top small college programs in the United States. Muhlenberg is one of only eight colleges to be listed in Fiske for both theatre and dance.
About Muhlenberg College
Founded in 1848, Muhlenberg is a highly selective, private liberal arts college offering baccalaureate and graduate programs. With an enrollment of nearly 2,000 students, Muhlenberg College is dedicated to shaping creative, compassionate, collaborative leaders through rigorous academic programs in the arts, humanities, natural sciences and social sciences; selected preprofessional programs, including accounting, business, education and public health; and progressive workforce-focused post-baccalaureate certificates and master’s degrees. Located in Allentown, Pennsylvania, approximately 90 miles west of New York City, Muhlenberg is a member of the Centennial Conference, competing in 23 varsity sports. Muhlenberg is affiliated with the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America.
