Updated: Nov. 18, 2024, at 4:55 p.m.

The sharp smell of hairspray lingered as dancers gazed into dressing room mirrors and cemented their hair into place.

Down the hallway, students buzzed around the Dorothy Betts Marvin Theatre, some locked in on their laptops to organize lighting and sound cues while another ran around searching for a missing pair of blue plaid shorts. The Fall Dance Concert dress rehearsal Wednesday marked the culmination of Choreography and Performance, a Corcoran School of the Arts & Design course where students organized auditions, developed the stage design and designed routines for the concert, which was the first time students choreographed the entirety of the event.
Jessica Denson, an adjunct professor in the dance program who teaches Choreography and Performance, said there were 10 student choreographers from her course who arranged the eight performances for the concert. She said she acted as the artistic director to advise the students through her “professional eye,” while her students ran the September auditions, led the couple months of rehearsals and worked with three professional designers and one student designer who helped bring their “creative visions” for the lighting, costumes, stage and sound designs to life.
“It’s a really beautiful experience to, you know, as an old hat at this thing, to watch the students really put everything together themselves,” Denson said.

Sophomore Maryn Chambers, an anthropology and dance student and the stage manager for the concert, said all of the performances fell into the modern or postmodern genres but were “drastically different” from each other in practice due to their varying themes and interpretations of the genres. The eight routines revolved around themes like reflecting on childhood memories, navigating one’s emotions and the passage of time, according to the concert’s program.

Chambers said that each day throughout their week of dress rehearsals, the dancers did warm-ups, a costumed run-through of the show and ended with a meeting to deliver notes on the run-through.

“Everyone in the company will sit in the auditorium, and we’ll go through notes of everything that went wrong and everything that went right, so that we can come back the next day and do it better, hopefully,” Chambers said.

Chambers said this is the first time student choreographers have designed all of the performances for the Fall Dance Concert, as faculty members and guest choreographers used to orchestrate some of the routines in previous years.

“That big change this semester came with its own trials, but still, I think it just turned out really amazing,” Chambers said. “And this dance concert, me, personally, I think that it’s one of the best ones we’ve had.”

Below the line of mirrors framed by warm, glowing bulbs, dancers’ backpacks, purses and UGG boots littered the dressing room floor and tables. Two racks of multicolored button downs, shirts and flowing pants stood labeled for the eight routines. A nearly empty Coca-Cola bottle sat next to an abandoned Panera Bread bag on the table, a few mirrors down from a sign reading “No Eating in Costume.”

As the words “warm up” rang through the speakers, the dancers filed into horizontal lines across the stage in their comfortable attire of sweatshirts and sweatpants and began their stretches. The dreamy and relaxed production of hip-hop artist Lexa Gates’ track “Stupid” filled the air while the dancers laid on the floor, curling up on their side and then stretching their arms and legs out like starfish.

Following the series of stretches, student choreographer Sadie Tucker led the dancers through a routine set to Britney Spears’ dance-pop hit “Gimme More” as the final portion of the warm-up.

“Oh my God, y’all are so hot,” Tucker shouted to the dancers, cutting through Spears’ signature vocal fry.

With the routine completed, warm-up was over, and the dancers had until 7:30 p.m. to unwind and get ready. In the hallways behind the three dressing rooms, two groups of dancers huddled together while their choreographers gave them final critiques ahead of their run-through.

Student choreographer Livvy Loxton read her notes to her crew of dancers, complimenting one of the dancers on her posture and asked “Can we get a last hug?” As Loxton and the dancers huddled for a group hug, one student said, “I really love you guys.”

In the adjacent dressing room, clouds of hairspray filled the dressing rooms as some dancers helped braid each other’s hair while others teased their hair for extra volume. Another group focused on the vanity mirrors, expertly applying a nude lipstick reminiscent of the 1990s and smoky, dark eyeshadow for their performances.

A dancer said “Pump that sh*t” as another dancer started playing club hits through their portable speaker. From “Blame It” by Jamie Foxx and T-Pain to “It Girl” by Aliyah’s Interlude, the dancers swayed and sang along to the lyrics.

One group of dancers taught the corresponding dance for Chappell Roan’s viral hit “HOT TO GO!” that emulates the instructional lyrics of “Y.M.C.A” for a new generation. Others headed into the bathrooms to change into costumes for the run-through, some donning sleek black outfits with others throwing on green overalls for their routine.

While the choreographers stationed themselves in the audience, dancers fluttered around through the dimly lit backstage, took their places in the wings and waited for their cues to go on stage. In one routine, a blend of striking red and blue lights washed over the stage, as dancers sauntered across the floor and struck poses that created shadows along the wall.

As they ran through their show from top to bottom, the choreographers in the audience punctuated each routine with cheers, whoops and emphatic shrieks of “Yes!”

Sophomore Abby Eickelbeck, an international affairs student, an assistant stage manager and one of the dancers, said the crew for the fall performance is like a “big family.” Since the beginning of the semester, she said everyone in the crew shares a similar level of “silliness” and are ultimately grounded by their common passion for dance.

“The community is fostered because we all love dance and we’re all here for the same purpose, and so that’s really what roots us,” Eickelbeck said.

After the last routine came to a close and the stage lights casted a warm glow, the choreographers migrated from the audience to take a bow of their own. Grinning from ear to ear with hand in hand, the choreographers looked off into the audience and took in the culmination of months of rehearsing ahead of the next day’s opening night.

This post has been updated to correct the following:

The Hatchet incorrectly reported that students were in charge of everything for the concert, including lighting, sound and stage design. They worked with three professional designers and one student designer for lighting, costumes, stage and sound design. The Hatchet also incorrectly reported that the dancers’ start time was 7 p.m. It was 5:30 p.m. We regret these errors.