The End of FTC 2013

Well it has been quite the ride. We started back in January and rehearsed every week for 8 hours, and sometimes more. There have been tears, there has been sweat (a lot), there have been laughs, and there has been blood, bruises, and pain. But I think all the members of the Freshman Touring Company would agree that it has all been worth it. Not only did we get to do what we love most, perform, but int he process we inspired high school students, elementary school children, elders, and hospital patients and families. There is nothing more fulfilling in the world than doing what one loves to give back to the community. Not only this, but we were also able to perform for our friends and family on Sunday APril 21st, and the whole Department of Dance on Monday April 22nd. This journey has truly taught us so much about ourselves, our peers, and our art form. It is sad to have to say goodbye to such an amazing company and experience, but we all look forward to having more experiences like this down the road in professional companies. We hope you have enjoyed following our adventures!

FTC 2013 will forever be known as the sassiest FTC class ever!

WE OUT! 

Performance 5- Our Final Touring Stop

It was finally feeling like spring here in Ann Arbor and suddenly the temperature dropped about 20 degrees as FTC boarded the bus on their way to Dickens Elementary. FTC arrived as some of the children were eating lunch. There was a mutual feeling of amusement as we watched the young and adorable children eat, and they watched us talked amongst ourselves. Our first show occurred at 1:00 pm. The kids sat on the floor as we performed on a tiny stage in the MPR. Throughout the first pice, Maddy and Nola's Dances for the Kitchen, the children could not stop laughing. Every time a lift would occur among the female dancers, the children would burst out laughing. The laughter continued on through almost all of the performance. The children thoroughly enjoyed the performance, and the dancers could not be more excited that these young children were so enthusiastic about modern dance and our art form. Our second performance occurred at 2:40 pm. The kids that attended this performance enjoyed it a lot as well. After the performance, a young boy and his mother approached our one male member, Jeffrey Noble. The boy and the mother asked Jeffrey about his experience with dance and if he had any advice for this young dancer. The kids were so cute and so responsive to our dancing that we all left feeling accomplished!

Performance 4

On Tuesday April 16th, FTC packed into several cars and headed over to Glacier Hills Nursing Home. The stage was about the same size as the Carr Center's stage, meaning that it was very wide, but also very shallow. The dancers performed for an audience of elders. In fact, many audience members were quite enthustic dance watchers as they have been coming to the University of Michigan Department of Dance's shows for years. Glacier Hills has always been a tour stop for the Freshman Touring Company, and in addition to FTC, Ann Arbor Dance works also performs at this location every summer. The audience was very appreciative of our dancing and had a lot of questions for us at the end of the performance. At the end of the performance, all the dancers left in a happy state as we realized that we had brought these lovely people entertainment and art, which is hard for them to obtain most of the time. 

Interview with Maddy and Nola

Lena Oren met up with juniors Maddy and Nola in between classes to learn a little bit more about the piece they created and the process behind it. 

Q: What is the name of the dance?

A: Dances for the Kitchen

Q:  Who is the composer of the music?

A: Slavic Soul Party

Q:    What is the concept behind the piece?

A: It is actually a restaging from another work. We conceptually tried to take things from a dance we did a year ago. What we kept was the idea of gender roles and whether we wanted to fulfill them, question them, or rebel against them.

Q:  Can you tell us a little bit about the process of creating the piece?

A: We came in with material on the videotape and in our body that was from the piece from last june. We had a lot of plans about how we could organize it, based on the number of dancers, and what sections we wanted to keep, whether they were trio, duet, or solo. We tried to set a game plan before our first rehearsal because of the lack of time. After the first rehearsal we strung things together to see what worked and what needed to be delved into more.

Q: What have been some of your fondest memories at the University of Michigan?

Maddy stands while Nola hinges during a duet they
choreographed that was performed at the American
College Dance Festival this year

A: Maddy-Oh Gosh! My fondest memory would proabably be the first week of school when Nola and I went to a football game. I was wearing a yellow Michigan shirt and Nola was wearing a floral dress. We were walking down State Street by all the crazy houses, when we spotted these boys we sort of knew. They told us to join them in the house they were in, so we walked into that house and were greeted by someone who asked us why we were there. We then spotted our sort of "friend."  The guy was wearing 3 or 4 michigan shirts layered on top of one another, and he asked Nola why she was wearing a dress and  gave Nola a shirt to wear.

Q: Do you prefer choreography over performing? Or visa versa?

A: Nola-I like to performing other people's works because it gives me the opportunity to try on different things and different styles of movement or moods, or styles I would not necessarily make myself. But at the moment I am very interested in improvisation and orignianl work and I love choreography way more than I did when I first came here, because I had done zero choreography when I first came here.

Maddy-Today, I still like performing more. But that also includes performing my own stuff. I do like performing others as well. I think my opinion could change in the future. 

Performance Number 3

All company members had to wake up quite early this morning as our call time was at 7:45 am! This was because our tour took us all the way to Detroit to perform at the Carr Center for the Arts. The audience consisted of high school students from a school nearby, several teachers, and some of the employees at the Carr Center. After the performance we had a much longer Q & A session with the audience. They asked some really great questions and it was a great experience to be able to explain dance through our bodies and words to these teenagers who do not get experiences like this that often. The Carr Center is an absolutely amazing place! It is home to many visual art exhibitions, musical concerts, performances, and other artistic productions. The building itself was built in 1895, and the company members were not only generously fed at the center, but also received an amazing tour of the facilities. The dancers left very inspired after having performed at such an arts haven!

so official!

Second Performance at Skyline High School

On Friday April 12th, FTC company members boarded the Ride in our matching jackets, once again, to journey over to Skyline High School. The company was very fortunate to be able to perform in a black box theatre, located in the basement of the newly renovated high school. We performed two shows back to back and once again had a lot of space to work with. The audience seemed to enjoy the pieces and we had a few minutes at the end to have a Q and A session with the students and teachers. One english teacher questioned us about the connection between dance and narratives, which allowed the company members to explain how there is so much more to dance than the physical activity that it requires. It was truly great to expose these teenagers to the art of dance, as many people do not have the resources, time, or desire to experience the arts and especially dance. We were happy to get back to campus because there was a cake waiting in the dance building for Meri Bobber, who was celebrating her birthday this past weekend. All the company members went to the Mosher Jordan Dining Hall together to celebrate the three amazing shows that we have had and Meri's birthday!

A scene from Wanjiru's piece Fragmented Thoughts

The 1st FTC Performance

The Freshman Touring Company began its touring season with a premier performance at  the University Hospital on April 11th.  As a company, we walked over to the hospital in our matching FTC 2013 jackets. When the company arrived, we were instructed to move the couches and tables out of the way to create our performing space located in the main lobby. We very much appreciated the large size of the stage and although it may have been carpet, we were able to perform to our fullest! Audience members came and went, but some stayed and enjoyed the performance the whole time. It was an extremely enriching experience to perform for these people who were in great need of distraction and art, as waiting in the lobby of a hospital can get quite boring at times. Overall, FTC definitely agrees that our first show was quite a hit and so much fun to perform!

Some company members showing off our new jackets