Meet the Choreographers-Ayla, Sean, and Alissa

Ayla Jakes (Senior)

Can you share with our readers any concepts, ideas, or images you are exploring in your piece?
For my piece this year, I am exploring the overall concept of relationships, reactions, and architecture. Through these three concepts, I am trying to create an accumulation of effects. I use my concepts to show succession of similar or different events or movements.

What movement qualities are you working with (style), and how does it support your ideas?
I am working with creating and viewing this work through the lens of architecture and geometric shapes. The reason I used these as my main movement qualities is due to the fact that dance and architecture use both shape and form. By this process of recreating and redefining space, movement and architecture join together to create work that is beyond the physical experience of the dancer. In conjunction to the macro idea of architecture, I incorporate time, variety, and energy to showcase the process of cause and effect.

How has this creative process helped you grow as an individual and an artist?
The overall creative process through Afterimages has helped me grow immensely as an individual and artist. Some of the lessons that I have learned as a choreographer are to trust my instincts, along with believing in the process of individual creative empathy. I have learned to continually ask questions that address both the world around myself, and the world within me.

What have you and your cast gained from this experience?
I have gained so much knowledge from working with a cast of 17 people. Each of my cast members are truly part of a team now. In order to make this piece what it is, I couldn’t have done it without any of them. They have held me accountable as the choreographer by making sure I was specific in my directions, making sure I clarified movements or expectations, and ensured that I came to rehearsal with prepared material (so I didn’t look like a fool in front of 1/4 of the Dance Program). Through this process, I learned to have patience, to be welcoming to outside ideas/ suggestions, and to be accommodating of others’ natural movement patterns. I am very grateful for all the hard work my cast has put into the piece, and I am truly so happy with the piece overall.

What do you hope the audience gains from viewing your work?
When the audience is viewing my work, I hope that they gain a sense of accumulation, an overwhelming sense of space, and an appreciation for the process of the overall chain of events.


Sean Frenzel (Sophomore)

Can you share with our readers any concepts, ideas, or images you are exploring in your piece?
I have usually found it easier to be the one leaving than being the one left behind in any relationship. Often times, the most painful endings are not those that end suddenly with a bang, but rather the ones that slowly fizzle away until there is nothing left, leaving you questioning where it went wrong. My intention in my piece is to show the relationship between three people, how they meet under happenstance, become fast friends, and then drift apart. I want to leave the audience considering the depth and importance of their relationships-as they can end suddenly at any moment, or slip slowly away.

What experiences in your life inspire you and how do you bring that inspiration into your creative process?
Dance has always served as a coping mechanism; it functions as a catalyst for overcoming conflict, both large and small. The realization of drifting apart from someone very important to me has given me a lot of hardship over the past couple of years. I am using my dance as a way to overcome a period of my life that has been defined by pain and isolation. Dance is a way for me to take my emotions and express them in a way that can be interpreted by others in a way that is helpful to their current plights.

What movement qualities are you working with (style), and how does it support your ideas?
The style of my piece is tap dance-which is often the black sheep of the dance community and is sometimes taken a little less seriously than many other styles. One of my overarching goals as a tap dancer is to help break down this stereotype and demonstrate that tap is just as viable as a form of expression as it is entertainment. I want to show that tap can be beautifully moving and evoke deep emotions while also adding another layer of rhythmic complexity to the musical score.

How has this creative process helped you grow as an individual and an artist?
This is the first tap piece that I have choreographed without a co-choreographer, and because of this I was a bit anxious going into it. I wasn’t certain if I would be able to fully realize my own vision. However, now that my piece is finished, I have never been more proud of a dance that I’ve created. I’m excited to continue working on more choreography because I now know that I can do it without having to lean on another creative partner.

What do you hope the audience gains from viewing your work?
I hope the audience will give thought to their relationships and not take them for granted. Our time together is fleeting and far too often we don’t realize what good things we have until they’re gone. Regret is not a product of failure, but rather missed opportunities. When that opportunity is gone, it generally doesn’t come back.

Alissa Laufenberg (Junior)

Can you share with our readers any concepts, ideas, or images you are exploring in your piece?
I have been working with the idea of abstracting musical dissonance into a physical form.  This plays with the ideas of tension and release. I urge my cast to be like music in a dissonant and consonant way.

What experiences in your life inspire you and how do you bring that inspiration into your creative process?
This concept was formed due to an interest in dissonant music, but grew into something more personal. Dissonant sounds are sounds that are crass, harsh, or unpleasant. With this knowledge, I began working with this piece during the previous semester. As I started the process, I realized this piece was a way for me to express the stress and dissonance in my life. It became a way to release these feelings and gave much more direction behind the movement.

What movement qualities are you working with (style), and how does it support your ideas?
I’m working with a contemporary or modern style of dance that supports my concept of tension and release.  It is a very specific movement quality and my dancers have been challenged to internalize.  They are working to achieve the effort needed to portray what I am looking for.

What are some choreographic strategies you use during a typical rehearsal?
My work on this piece stems from a solo I choreographed in the spring; I already had a lot of the movement created.  This allowed me to spend most of my time deciding how I wanted to translate my piece from a solo form to the group form. My rehearsals tend to begin with teaching the dancers phrases, and then working that into spacing and adding the performance qualities that I’m looking for.