FROM SOUL TO SOLE
by
Rachel Wells
A Senior Honors Project Presented to the
Honors College
East Carolina University
In Partial Fulfillment of the
Requirements for
Graduation with Honors
by
Rachel Wells
Greenville, NC
May 2015
Approved by:
Dirk Lumbard
School of Theatre and Dance, College of Fine Arts and Communication
Introduction
This piece is a collaborative work that combines my passion for dance with my love for
choreography. My final work is a 3 and half minute long piece that is choreographed for a group
of five dancers to the song “Uptown Funk,” by Mark Ronson. With the aid of my mentor, I was
able to create a dance that was not only challenging, but also fun for my dancers to perform.
Dance has been my passion for as long as I can remember. As a child, I would dance down the
grocery store aisles if a song came on that I liked, and I still do to this day. I can remember my
dad and I dancing around a clothing store in the mall one day. We have home videos of me
grooving to beach music when I was four. Like I said, I have loved dancing for as long as I can
remember. I specifically chose tap as my style of dance because there is no such thing as a sad
tap dance, and you can’t help but be happy when tapping. That was the original concept behind
my dance, the song itself, and the choreography. I strove to share my passion and love for dance
with the dancers and the audience though this piece.
Creative process of the choreography
There is a five-step process that I chose to follow in regards to the creative process behind my
choreography. The following is a graph of the step-by-step process.
Brainstorming
Concept
Mapping
Auditions
Setting the
piece
Performance
•Song ideas
• Broadway vs. Rhythm tap
• Number of dancers
• General outline of choreography
• 4-6 counts of choreography
• Dancers chosen based on certain
criteria
• Series of practices
• Determine dancer placement
• Dancers will have practice time before
the piece
• Dance will be presented in Messick
Graph 1 – Creative Process
The five steps are: 1) brainstorming, 2) concept mapping, 3) auditions, 4) setting the piece, and
5) performance. Each step is an integral part to the creative process behind choreographing a
dance, however some steps are more challenging than others. This is not a cut and dry order for
how the choreography process happens either. That process is individual to each choreographer,
and often changes frequently.
During the brainstorming process, I began to form my original ideas of what I wanted my piece
to eventually look like. I used the time period of approximately six weeks to determine which
style of tap I wanted to use to choreograph my dance. I did research about each style, and used
my past experience to weigh in on the ease of choreography and varying techniques. After my
comparisons of Broadway and rhythm tap, I decided I was most comfortable doing a
combination of both. There are several elements of the dance where you can see each style peek
through.
Next came the concept mapping stage. This is where I began to document the ideas that came to
mind while listening to the song. Many choreographers will tell you that imagining a dance and
making the dance physically happen is a challenging process. Most of the time what you
envision does not turn out quite like you pictured it. By the end of the concept mapping stage, I
had created a complete concept of the dance.
The third step was the audition process. There are two routes that choreographers can go when
casting their piece; the first route is asking dancers to be in the piece. This is typically done when
the choreographer has already seen how the dancers perform, and is confident in the dancers’
abilities to perform the piece. The second route is the more typical audition process, where any
dancer interested can audition for the piece. An audition time is set and dancers are assigned
numbers to wear during the process. They are then taught several 8-counts of choreography,
usually in 5 to 10 minutes, and then broken into small groups to perform the choreography. The
choreographer will watch each group and evaluate the dancers. After each group performs the
piece several times to allow the choreographer to see all the dancers adequately, the audition
ends and the choreographer will make his/her decisions. The cast list is either posted or emailed
within the next several days.
I chose to modify the audition process slightly. As a member of the ECU Tap Ensemble, I
evaluated the other members of the group during our weekly practices. From there I invited
several of the girls to be in my piece once I was confident in their abilities. My original cast list
started out with eleven dancers, but as we approached exams, my cast dwindled to five dancers,
counting myself. In the end, my cast ended up being the perfect fit for my piece and the ideas
behind it.
The most challenging part was setting the piece on my dancers. The four dancers who were in
my piece are all dance majors, which means that they spend a significant amount of time in
auditions, rehearsals, and classes. We eventually found times that everyone could meet to review
the dance and learn new choreography. I was extremely impressed with my dancers, as they
quickly learned the choreography. The main concept behind my choreography was to give the
dancers a fun, upbeat dance where they could enjoy dancing. We typically had hour-long
practices a twice each week, and rehearsed for a total of four weeks.
Finally came our performance date. My piece was performed in “Lights Up.” “Lights Up” is an
informal showcase for student choreographers to have the chance to choreograph for fun, not a
grade. Since this showcase is through the School of Theatre and Dance, I was the only non-dance
major who had a piece being performed. “Lights Up” is entirely student led, from the
choreography, to the lights and sound, to the final clean up. It is held in Studio Theatre in
Messick and occurs every Reading Day.
Rehearsal, Tech, and Performance Processes
As previously mentioned, rehearsals were a challenging part of this process. Coordinating five
peoples’ schedules is never easy, especially when I was not with my dancers on a daily basis.
However, we did find two times each week when everyone could meet. I had my dancers block
off those hour-long periods, and we used those times wisely. The rehearsals consisted of
reviewing choreography that had been taught previously, learning new choreography, and
brainstorming the beginning of the piece.
Tech is held a couple of hours before the show. During this time, we briefly run through where
each dancer should stand and choose the lighting. Since the show itself is called “Lights Up,” the
lights are simply raised and lowered at the beginning and end of each piece. After tech was
completed, I gave my dancers a practice time of 7:00 p.m. At 7:00, we ran through the piece
several times, and then waited for the show to begin.
The performance itself was a fun experience. I wanted to bring humor and energy to the show, as
the large majority of the pieces were modern or contemporary styles. My one overarching goal
for this piece was for my dancers to really have fun while dancing, and to get to be themselves. It
is extremely challenging to verbally describe what my choreography ended up looking like
during the performance. However, there is a video of the performance attached.
Findings and Takeaways
There are several important takeaways from this project that I have learned. Each has been
integral to my process as a choreographer, a dancer, and an Honor Student.
1. Always trust your dancers – while I was worried at some points about the choreography
and how the final dance would look, I eventually learned to rely on them to execute the
dance and trust that they would give 100%.
2. From the dancer perspective, I learned that not all dances need to be challenging or
complicated. Often the dances where you can have the most fun are the pieces that have
the most passion.
3. As an Honor Student, this was a tremendous opportunity to explore my passions outside
of my major. I have enjoyed every minute of the choreography process, the rehearsals,
and the showing of my piece. Having the opportunity to show not only my piece, but also
my passion and love for dance has been an experience that has encouraged the creative
aspects of my personality, while simultaneously challenging me to reach out of my
comfort zone.