Internationally acclaimed choreographers help University Dancers prepare for Richmond performance
STUDENT EXPERIENCE
Nicolo Fonte watched as members of University Dancers moved closely together, arms drifting here and there, an occasional leg stretching upward.
Fonte, a freelance choreographer, was one of three professional choreographers, along with a group of faculty and students who created a piece for the University Dancers’ 41st annual Spring concert, CURRENTS.
As Fonte, winner of the Choo San Goh Award for choreography, continued to lead a group of dancers through his “Between Worlds” work, at a dramatic point, sophomore Julia Nugent plunged forward, held by her classmates.
“You can go further,” Fonte urged. “I want to make sure the movement is fully realized.”
Nugent responded with a deeper stretch, as the other dancers kept her aloft.
“Yes, that’s it!” said Fonte, with a smile.
Work for the performance began in early September following the company audition. Anne Van Gelder, director of University Dancers said, “Student choreographers and faculty choreographers auditioned company members for their individual casts. The guest artist residencies took place within a 7- to 8-day intensive creative rehearsal — Sunday to Sunday.”
Other guest artists for the show include Ephrat Asherie and Trey McIntyre. Asherie is a NYC-based director, choreographer, performer, and b-girl, and a 2016 Bessie Award Winner for Innovative Achievement in Dance. Her UR residency ran from late September to early October.
McIntyre, a creative partner of Los Angeles-based BODYTRAFFIC, received a lifetime achievement for choreography from The National Endowment for the Arts and has worked with companies including the Houston Ballet and New York City Ballet. His residency with University Dancers was in January 2026.
Student creations
Nugent choreographed her first piece, “Convergence,” for CURRENTS based on her experience of volunteering in the Child Life unit at Overlook Hospital in New Jersey. “Through specific choreographic methodologies and production design aspects, I express the challenges of healthcare workers, and the juxtaposition of how one person’s good day could be another person’s worst,” said Nugent, a dance and biology double major.
Another first-time choreographer is sophomore Lucy Lew. Her piece, “A Way Back to Then,” focuses on memories and what it feels like to relive them in the present. The dance is performed to music by Rat Pack artists. “It portrays the relationship between memories living both simultaneously in our head, but very much staying with us in the present,” said Lew, a dance and elementary education double major.
“The choreographers were impressed by our students’ adaptability, commitment, and thoughtful engagement in the creative process,” said Van Gelder. “Working with guest artists offers a very different experience to the dancers than working with their regular faculty and choreographers. It requires the dancer to adapt quickly not only to new ways of working, but to new movement vocabularies.”
CURRENTS will run Feb. 27-March 1. Tickets are available through the Modlin Center for the Arts.