As much as we are eager to reach graduation, there is still much to be done. It's becoming increasingly difficult to escape the ever-looming cloud of senioritis. But, we are accomplishing just that! Here's a beginning of the semester update:
We have begun immediately, diving into the choreographic process for our Senior Production in April. The seven choreographer's have been allotted twenty hours of rehearsals in these first two weeks! I am in Taylor Drury's cast, and the rehearsals have been varied and productive so far. Within the first few rehearsals, we have created movement phrases both quirky and lyrical. We have been using music from Italian and Greek influences. And, we have even created a scene that involves some butlers and a box of cereal. Although I am keen to share more, I know the end product will be quite different, especially because the rehearsal process will be put on hold at the end of this week. A unique aspect of Senior production is the rehearsal schedule: we create for two weeks, break for about nine, and come back to the pieces for another three weeks. While this may seem daunting, this break can give choreographers time to let their work settle and rest. After this, they can come back with a refreshed perspective.
In our Senior Production class, we are discussing more possible fundraising ideas. Our calendars were a huge success, and we are hoping to recreate this success with a Senior Production t-shirt. Aspects such as color, design, amount, and style are all being deliberated. You can expect to see these t-shirts for sale during the performances of our Juilliard Dances Repertory concert (March 21st-25th). We have also decided to take on another silent auction! This will function during our Repertory concert, as well. Furthermore, we hope to sell a notecard bundle, created by using outtakes from our calendar photo shoot! Please keep an eye out for these sales, as we will have only a limited supply. (For more information, visit our Merchandise page!)
On another note, a good majority of us have recently returned from our European tour auditions. As a class we have visited companies in France, Germany, Holland, Sweden, Denmark, and the U.K. The auditions were full of wonderful insight and assurance that our time at Juilliard has been supremely beneficial. We found learning experiences outside these auditions, as well. We discovered the difficulty of keeping up morale when traveling alone; a certain music playlist, a book, or even a beer or two helped counter this brief isolation. We also figured out how to find cheaper ways to travel. We took a couple buses instead of trains, and surprisingly the German company DeinBus (equivalent to American MegaBus) proved to be quite comfortable and affordable. Once we arrived at our destinations, we discovered how to orient ourselves without the use of the beloved iPhone. While we feel happy about our work in the auditions, we won't hear from the companies until next month, as they still have their larger, public auditions to do. Luckily, our involvement in multiple projects at school will keep us busy and distracted! Many of us have done multiple auditions thus far, but we still have more to come! It's quite the exciting prospect - imagining where all of my talented classmates will be at the end of this final semester.
Here is a photo as we finished our audition in Saarbrucken, Germany. Excitement all around!!