New Mexico State University’s dance troop Dancers Unlimited (DU) held auditions on Sept. 6 in the Corbett Center West Ballroom.
The audition process had multiple levels to it, in which each auditionee had to learn three different dances in a variety of styles such as contemporary, jazz, and hip-hop.
During the audition, choreographers each spent some time teaching the participants their respective dances.
After which the entire group performed in front of the judges panel, and then the group was split into two smaller groups for judging on a smaller scale.
Katie, the club’s graduate mentor, said dancers of all skill levels are welcome in DU, with many students coming from studio dance prior to joining the program.
The dances are judged on a point scale where five is the highest and zero is the lowest.
They judge things such as skill, personality, characterization within the dance, and special talents.
Dancers Unlimited is a student-led dance troop that looks to create a space for dancers to express themselves.
“It’s a way to dance when you don’t want to do it professionally, to dance for the love of dance,” Katie said.
It’s meant to promote dance and provide an atmosphere for freedom of expression. Each existing member of the club has their own personal connections to DU and their reasons for loving it.
Across the board all members said students should know DU is entirely student led.
It is a community with low commitment in which each student gets the liberty of deciding how involved they want to be, what dances they want to be in, what days they wish to attend, and even the number of leadership roles they wish to take.
There isn’t any schedule that’s set in stone with a rigorous curriculum. The skills and disciplines brought in by individual members get showcased during the show.
“Our whole thing’s also like, no coaches, no limits,” Maya Clausen, the troop’s president, said. “You can have your own say, have your own freedom.”
The other two choreographers were Emily Osburn, who choreographed the jazz piece, and Evelyn Espinoza, who choreographed the hip-hop piece.
Both expressed their admiration for the group, and their excitement for working with the new members this semester.
Similarly to Clausen, Espinoza made a statement on what she liked about the structure of DU.
“I like it because like… it’s mine, you know? No mentors or limits,” Espinoza said.
One student, Rumi Pecastaing, spoke of her lack of knowledge regarding DU prior to the audition.
“I didn’t really know anything about them,” Pecastaing said. “Well, they had like a table thing… but I didn’t really learn anything except the audition.” She later went on the explain, “I chose to audition because I need to dance, or I’ll go crazy.”
What students like Pecastaing learned is that Dancers Unlimited has many ways of performing and getting involved in the community.
Depending on who commissions them Dancers Unlimited do several things throughout the year.
Other clubs ask DU to perform at events, they teach some classes and workshops on dance, and have even performed at Las Cruces High School in the past.
So far this semester, they have their December showcase and a few public dance classes scheduled.
They have accounts on both Instagram and Facebook for students to follow, where they post the information for all their shows. Students wishing to continue dance can look forward to future auditions in the spring semester, as they host two auditions per semester.
