NMSU’s Dance Program and the Department of Kinesiology celebrated culture, community, and self-expression in “Desert Bloom: A Celebration of Dance” which ran from May 1 to 3.
The theme is a tribute to the many collaborators who came together and made the show a reality. There were 21 performances total, which featured faculty and student choreographers such as Graven Babe.
“It’s just a blooming of all of our different diversities,” Babe said. “And also, all of us have advanced so much, especially since I have first gotten here. So, I think, also for me, it’s like watching myself and all the other dancers that I’ve been with for the past two and a half-ish years just bloom into dance and ourselves.”
Babe has been a dancer for 17 years and choreographed “Blameless Creatures” and “Temporary Orbit.” In their first piece, Babe wanted to explore unique body movement in modern dance. They found inspiration for “Temporary Orbit” from outer space and from the dancers themselves.
“I was really looking to bring out the dancer’s strengths,” Babe said. “Neither of them have been featured as soloists a whole lot in their career, and so I really wanted to highlight them and create a piece around their body types and their strengths and stuff like that. And it ended up being this whole thing about the slingshot effect and planets.”
When it came to overcoming difficulties while preparing for this performance, student Briana Becerril believes many performers rely on their passion as their motivator.
“I feel like everyone has their own struggles outside of school,” Becerril said. “So, sometimes it’s hard to attend every single rehearsal, but despite that, I feel like everyone is still able to get back on track, even then, and stuff. And, aside from what other people experience, you know having to get up early and all that, I feel like it’s the same as with anything else and stuff, but we still make it through.”
Becerril, who is from El Paso, has been a dancer since high school. She enjoys it for the unexplainable feeling it gives her. When it comes to managing her personal fear about her performances, Becerril likes to focus on being in the moment on stage.
“For me personally, it’s like, thinking about how it’s going to be worth it in the end and stuff,” Becerril said. “Like how the emotions right now are not the same emotions that I’m going to have while I’m dancing. Like, once I’m dancing, I’m glad I came here and stuff.”
Alexis Ramirez is a nursing major and chose to pursue a minor in dance to rekindle her love for the activity after growing up dancing at her grandma’s quinceañera shop.
“I’m from Roswell, so I was always going to quinceañeras, so social dancing was always my thing,” Ramirez said. “I didn’t fully start dancing, like, structure-wise, until I came to college in ’22.”
Ramirez joined NMSU’s dance program to do something that had never been done in her family before. For Ramirez, dance has always been a part of her life. Now, it exists as a stress reliever, and Ramirez finds herself missing it when she can’t perform.
“Dance, for me, is just my safe haven,” Ramirez said. “It really is, especially experiencing it. I think last semester was the first time I was away from the program since 2022 and I, really was yearning for it.”
Sebastian Rodriguez is an engineering major who also has a minor in dance and uses dance to bring joy to his busy schedule. Rodriguez credited NMSU’s Dance Program with giving him the best years of his life, so far.
“Coming here is like a different vibe, it’s like, since everyone’s more mature, everyone knows each other and stuff,” Rodriguez said, “Everyone helps each other out and stuff like that. Along with, like, the choreographers like Ryan, Ana, Apple, and George, they’ll help out. Like [they’re] people you can actually, like, trust, and it’s not like, ‘Oh I’m just going to, like, a teacher back in high school.’ No, it’s like actual people you know and care for, and they care for you, too.”
