| Davidson College Dance Ensemble
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Gamut Next Step for Dance at Davidson She loved it. She loved the whisk of her slippers against the floor, the blinding stage lights, the applause. She loved it, but sometimes she wished for a smaller troupe and more performances, less improvisation and more technique. Which was why last year Lauren Yero helped found the Gamut, Davidson’s first Dance Company. Lauren and Patricia Massey, both seniors, were selling brownies one afternoon when they started discussing the future of dance at Davidson. “We basically came to the conclusion that while Dance Ensemble is an amazing, unique organization, it is limited because it doesn’t allow the dancers who have been classically trained to improve and be challenged,” Lauren explained. Consequently, they decided, membership in the Gamut would be audition-based and would require candidates to demonstrate skill in ballet, jazz, and modern. Those who gained admission into the Company would then have the opportunity to be taught by professional instructors from the North Carolina Dance Theater (NCDT). Shari Reid, a fellow senior who agreed to write the charter, elaborated on the group’s purpose. “We would really like to bring a new appreciation of dance to the college. Right now there is no dance major, so we hope the Company will spark some interest in the administration and show students how much technique and hard work go into this activity.” And just as much work went into laying the framework of the Company itself. Besides submitting the charter for approval, selecting a manager, and deciding how many auditions should be held per year, the girls had to petition for money from the tax counsel. “The most difficult part of setting up the Gamut has probably been getting funding,” Lauren mused. “Since we just registered the organization last semester, we weren’t able to ask for as much money as we would have liked. As a result, it may be difficult for us to pay choreographers for their time or to pay for a performance space. But we’ve had no shortage of interest from dancers at Davidson and from NCDT – lots of people are very enthusiastic about the Company and want to be involved.” The next order of business? A name. “We didn’t want to just call ourselves Dance Company because that might easily get confused with Ensemble,” Lauren said. “We voted for the Gamut because ‘gamut’ means the complete range between two extremes. We thought this would be appropriate since we wanted to become a company that performed all different styles of dance.” Auditions for the upcoming season were held last weekend, and Lauren believes they were a success. “Two people from NCDT and Lucy Marcil, a graduated company member, were in charge,” she explained. “We had a ballet section, a modern section, and a jazz section, with a few combinations in each style of dance.” Company veterans who auditioned automatically kept their spots, but the Gamut still gained four new members: two freshmen, a sophomore, and a senior. “We had a lot of freshmen try out, but Jacki and Gretchen felt that those girls would benefit from another semester or two of dance classes at Davidson before joining the company,” Lauren commented. Although barely into its second year, the Gamut is wasting no time leaping center stage. For example, while members look forward to working with the Ensemble, they would also like to present a show of their own. “There are about four or five girls in the company who want to choreograph pieces in addition to those the teachers from NCDT will set on us, so we should have enough material to support our own show,” Lauren said. “If it doesn’t work out, however, we will definitely perform pieces in Dance Ensemble’s performance this semester and then have a show of our own in the spring.” Shari agreed. “In the future we might even compete, but right now we’re still getting established,” she added. Whatever music the Gamut dances to this season, both Lauren and Shari are thrilled to be there for the opening notes. “What I’m most looking forward to is starting a new year and getting a great group together,” Shari said. “It’s nice to think someday I’ll be able to say I helped the Gamut take off.” Lauren agreed. “When we decided to form a dance company at Davidson, we all knew we would only see the beginning of it. Even though I am certainly looking forward to dancing and performing this year, I am most excited about what the Company will lead to in the future.”
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