Full Circle preparing for dance performance
USU’s contemporary dance company, Full Circle, isn’t just performing a routine, they are telling stories and expressing ideas through dance said Evette Bentley, USU sophomore and Full Circle dancer.
Full Circle consists of 17 dance members, Bentley said, and five boys have volunteered their time and are going to be in the performance as well. The performance has 12 different routines Bentley said, and some of the dances have been choreographed by the dancers themselves.
“There have been challenges,” Bentley said. “I think whenever there is a group of a lot of girls there is always challenges, but with this group of girls there hasn’t been a lot of drama.”
The company meets Tuesdays and Thursdays at 7 a.m., Bentley said, but since winter break, they’ve also practiced Monday through Thursday at 8 p.m. and go as late as 11 p.m.
“The biggest thing is the long hours, just the dedication you have to have,” she said. “But that’s the good thing, we all love to dance. Describing a few of the dance numbers prepared for their first solo performance “One,” Bentley said there will an upbeat jazz routine, a comedy piece and a cohesive ballet/ hip-hop piece that was choreographed by Bentley and team member Brittany Clark.
Bentley said one of her favorite dances that will be performed is one in which each girl has a scarf and the scarves represent something holding a person back in life. The girls themselves picked something they want to overcome, something that has been holding them back, she said.
“The whole dance is overcoming that trial or problem. I love watching that dance,” she said.
Bentley said, “When we are dancing, we are expressing something. Every dance has a story behind it. You can interpret it however you want, but our dance is what it is to us. We are telling a story though our movements.”
She said there is a lot of dedication and preparation, and “then it finally happens. It’s amazing. It’s the best feeling. Anyone who does anything like volleyball or soccer or anything where you work towards a goal knows the feeling, and it’s so amazing.”
Full Circle will be performing “One” at 7:30 p.m., Tuesday at the Ellen Eccles Theatre. “One” will be Full Circle’s first performance where they are the only performers, Bently said. Full Circle performed a dance at the Howl as an opening act before the magician and at an event during Women’s History Month.
“We are always open, whenever people want entertainment or someone to dance at a program, we are always down for it,” she said.
Kristen Smith, president of Full Circle, started the company last fall, Bentley said. Her main purpose was to start a program for girls who wanted to dance, she said. Smith is a USU student, Bentley said, who teaches dance at the ballet school, USU and the Sports Academy.
“She is amazing,” Bentley said. “She does so much for the company.”
She said, “(Smith) always says, even though it’s long hard hours and we might think it’s just one show and that it might not be a big deal, she says the basis of us trying to bring back this dance company could affect so many generations of students coming to USU who want to dance. It’s amazing, her love for dance. She wants others to enjoy it too.”-n.drue.t@aggiemail.usu.edu