So for all you Rutgers students who exist day to day in your own worlds and try to not even think of the universe surrounding you, then it is highly likely that you missed possibly the most jam-packed MGSA (Mason Gross School of the Arts) events of the year: Dance Day. Basically, this past Wednesday, November 18th, around three hundred fifty high school students visited Rutgers University with the sole intention of scoping out the dance department. Of course, with all this “scoping”, it gets a bit ridiculous and crowded. Thus, several dance students are asked to participate in the program and help facilitate the process. And this of course means I jumped up at the opportunity like a little kid and spent my entire morning/afternoon herding rowdy teenagers.
The reason why I would so blatantly place myself in such a situation? It’s because of my own experience at Dance Day last year when I was one of those rowdy kids. I remember that I was so unsure of my future and my college decisions; however, I knew that when I visited Rutgers on Dance Day I felt very much at home. And talk about fate because I’m a part of the program today!
Now on Wednesday I had to wake up at 6:30 am (yes, 6:30 am actually exists in college) so I could get some breakfast with my fellow helpers and be at the dance department at the MGSA complex at a strict 7:30 am time slot…which we, as college students, completely failed to do so and arrived 15 minutes late. Nevertheless, I was put to work straight away and spent 20 minutes running around Bettenbender plaza putting up signs directing people where to go, as well as promoting the event. Dancers then began arriving, slowly at first, but then in hordes. My second/primary job was registration along with a few other dancers, and we were kept busy making sure everyone was organized and knew where to go and what was happening throughout the day. Due to the large number of high schoolers attending, they were automatically placed in a specific room which designated their class, which was checked off when they registered online prior to the event. Some rooms were modern classes and modern rep (which means they will learn a modern phrase/combination after the class), another was a ballet class and a modern rep, and others were modern classes and jazz reps. All classes were taught by MGSA dance faculty.
After classes and rep, half of the participants were ushered into the New Theater to view two student choreographed pieces, as well as a piece choreographed by the Urban Bush Women, who are resident choreographers at Mason Gross this year. All pieces consisted of current BFA dancers and allowed the prospective students a look at how fabulous our department truly is. After one show finished, another on began for the other half of the group.
At the end of the day, I spent a good 6 hours stressing out and being uber responsible; however, I am completely content with my decision to help out, knowing that I have had an impact on some of the potential freshmen dancers next year.
Location: SinglePost