The Washington and Lee dance company will put on “W&L Dancers Create…” at the Lenfest Center for the Arts from Nov. 13 to Nov. 15. The show is almost entirely created and directed by students.
Jenefer Davies, the department head for theater, dance and film studies, is also the artistic director of the performance. She said it’s a unique opportunity for students to apply what they’ve learned about the history and vocabulary of dance to a performance of their own.
“We also work in tandem with the lighting design class,” she said, “so students are also designing the lights for the performance.”
Davies said she came to the university 20 years ago to work on the dance program. She said she wanted to empower students to be creative in a lot of different ways.
“The act of creating a dance all the way from inception to fruition is an extremely empowering process,” Davies said.
She said she decided to have a fall performance designed by students and a winter performance led by guest artists and faculty. Students would be able to get a taste of both experiences.
This year’s student-directed performances fall under the umbrella of modern dance, Davies said. Modern dance was born at the end of the 19th century and isn’t constrained to only one type of dance, according to the Kennedy Center. Davies said what makes modern dance exciting is that it is always adapting, changing and growing.
While labeling the performance as a modern dance concert might make all the pieces sound the same, Davies said each performance is vastly different. There’s a piece that has ballet influences, another that pulls inspiration from hip hop movements and a third that utilizes rope and harness technology for an aerial performance, she said.
She said the creative process behind the scenes is collaborative because there’s always a constant back and forth dialogue among students and also between students and Davies. While students have full creative freedom to choreograph their performance, Davies said she does provide guidance in the “development of thematic material and how they’re applying that to movement.”
By teaching their peers the choreography and giving each other feedback, students are also refining their leadership skills, Davies said.
“There’s a lot of learning that goes on. It’s really delightful,” she said.
Davies said the audience can also expect to see the use of technology in the upcoming show. Evan Clark, ’26, will project words onto crash pads to convey a message about breaking down walls, she said.
Davies said she hopes the performance will evoke the audience’s imagination and provide inspiration.
“It’s really about falling in love with dance and wanting to continue to experience it,” she said.
