Welcome!

Hello and welcome to the Afterimages 2013 blog!—a place where you can learn more about the dynamic group of student choreographers creating dances this year.  This year’s group of artists is investigating a wide variety of ideas and composing in many styles including modern, ballet, tap and jazz.  My name is Ashlyn Cianciolo, a junior at the University of Wisconsin – Stevens Point, and the newest member of the student production team.  I want to take a moment to express how thrilled I am to get to experience Afterimages from this new vantage point! I am joining senior team members Brittany Mlsna and Morgan McMahon to organize and produce a dance concert that connects to and inspires the audience. We also welcome Marisa Abbott to the team; she is the 2013 stage manager and very excited to run the behind-the-scenes aspects of the concert.

For those that are unfamiliar with the Afterimages process, here’s a quick rundown: Afterimages is a fully student run and student produced dance concert. That means students will be:

• Dancing
• Choreographing
• Lighting
• Costuming
• Stage Managing

Each year, Afterimages begins with around twenty pieces (23 this year!) in rehearsal.  In mid-October these works are shown to a panel of faculty members and one student adjudicator. This team then selects dances that they feel are ready for full production. The remaining dances are then presented in our informal show, Afterimages Outtakes.

A unique part of this year’s Afterimages concert is the spatial orientation of the NFAC Studio Theatre.  We are testing our creative energies by making dances in a thrust stage design—this means there will be audience members on three out of four sides! We are excited to explore the possibilities of this stage orientation, as it is much different from a typical one-sided proscenium theatre.

Over the last three years, I have been a part of many aspects of Afterimages process– dancer, choreographer, and audience member. I am really looking forward to seeing it from a new side, as a part of the production team!   In my freshman year, I was a part of Afterimages Outtakes, the informal show, and got to watch the full production of Afterimages and support my new dance friends. Last year, I dipped my toes into the choreography side of things, and my work was presented in the Afterimages Outtakes concert.  This year I am choreographing again and dancing in several of my peer’s projects. I am so inspired by what my peers are creating and I am looking forward to sharing all of our hard work with the faculty in the upcoming weeks.

Check back next week as we hear from two student choreographers as they discuss their inspirations and creative process.