Wednesday, May 5, 2010

Finals Fun

While some might sit in a library or computer lab and stress over writing a final paper, or memorizing books' worth of facts--and while I will have to do this for my academic classes, too-- Finals Week is just one more reason I love being a dance major.


The majority of finals for our dance classes are fun--a performance, and a celebration of everything we have learned over the two semesters. For example, my Improvisation class was split into three groups and each were assigned a site-specific project in which you collectively choose a site on campus that inspires you, and create guidelines for a dance. The day of our final, we went around to each groups site and watched their improvisation.


One group danced in Dunn Woods, another at the Music School fountain across Jordan Ave. from Read, and my group danced outside and around the Beck Chapel. Some people might jump around in fountains just for fun at the end of the year, but we got to do it as a learning experience, which was one of the most beneficial assignments for me that we have done all year, making it the perfect final.


While the dancing outside was fun in itself, it was also fun to watch and interpret each group's inspiration they derived from their site. It made me realize how lucky I am to have been able to spend a year with these creative people and learn from them as well as my teachers, and also how lucky I was to be assigned to live in Read's Performing Arts Community two years in a row with many of these same people.