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Moving ‘Home’ showcases IUPUI and community dancers

Dec 5, 2018
The Moving Company rehearses.
Members of The Moving Company, IUPUI’s contemporary dance organization that was established in 1983, rehearse “Home Is Me,” a piece by alumna and guest choreographer Adrienne D. Jackson. The piece will be a part of the “Home” dance showcase Saturday, Dec. 8, in the Campus Center Theater.Photo by Tim Brouk, Indiana University

The Moving Company has called IUPUI its home since 1983. The contemporary dance group will unpack “Home” this weekend.

The group will perform four original pieces in its fall showcase, titled “Home,” at 2 and 7 p.m. Saturday, Dec. 8, at the Campus Center Theater. The concert is free and open to the public. The Moving Company will be joined by Xiphos Corps, Create Freedom Arts Projects and Studio J2 Dance for the dance extravaganza.

One of the works, “Home Is Me,” showcases 16 of The Moving Company’s 20 performers dancing to up-tempo music and utilizing an array of dance expertise. Guest choreographer Adrienne D. Jackson scripted jumps, floor work and modern moves to tell the story of her “Home.”

“It’s just coming to terms with being who I am and being that person wherever I am,” said Jackson, an IUPUI alumna and current Indianapolis high school mathematics teacher. “It’s about settling into a comfortable space.”

Description of the following video:

[Video: The Moving Company, IUPUI’s dance club, rehearses one of their pieces that they will perform at a winter showcase. The students are dancing in a room at the campus center.]

[Words appear in top-left corner: IUPUI presents]

[MUSIC IN THE BACKGROUND]

Katherine Shr speaks in voiceover: The Moving Company was formed in 1983. We’re one of the oldest organizations on campus. 

[Video: The Moving Company practices pirouettes during their warmup.]

Shr speaks in voiceover: Our biggest thing is promoting, like, performing arts …

[Video: Katherine Shr, an IUPUI sophomore, appears on camera.]

[Words appear: Katherine Shr, IUPUI sophomore]

Shr speaks: … and we do a lot of … different kinds of dance styles …

[Video: The Moving Company warms up by stretching. The group is looking at themselves in a mirror as they practice.] 

Shr speaks in voiceover: … allowing our students to be able to … our students, our dancers, to dance freely and express themselves. We do, like, lyrical, hip-hop, ballet. 

[Video: Shr appears on camera.]

Shr speaks: We are open to any dancers, even if they’ve never danced before. We are welcoming to, like, anybody who wants to try or wants to experience dance.

[Video: The Moving Company rehearses one of their pieces in a room at the campus center.]

Megan Nowels speaks in voiceover: On December 8 is our winter showcase. The Moving Company will be performing four pieces. We work all semester on these four pieces.

[Video: Megan Nowels, an IUPUI junior, appears on camera.]

[Words appear: Megan Nowels, IUPUI junior]

Nowels speaks: We practice on Monday and Thursday nights. Monday night learns a different piece, and then Thursday night learns a different piece. 

[Video: The Moving Company practices different dance moves at their rehearsal. Three practices at a time.]

Nowels speaks: We love performing. I think that’s a lot of why people continue dancing. I grew up dancing my whole life … 

[Video: Nowels appears on camera.] 

Nowels speaks: … and then I left high school and I was not ready to quit dancing, so I found The Moving Company, and I joined it. 

[Video: A student teaches the group how to perform a specific dance move.]

[Video: The Moving Company rehearses one of their pieces in a room at the campus center.] 

[Video: The Moving Company warms up by stretching. The group is looking at themselves in a mirror as they practice.]

[Video: The Moving Company continues to rehearse one of their pieces for the winter showcase.] 

Nowels speaks in voiceover: The feeling that you get when you perform is like nothing you can really describe. It’s, like, a great feeling, and to be able to find a home at IUPUI with The Moving Company, and find friends, and be able to come together and dance and share a special time together is really amazing.  

[MUSIC IN THE BACKGROUND] 

[Screen goes to black]

[IU trident appears]

[Words appear: IUPUI]

[Words appear: Fulfilling the promise]

[Words appear: iupui.edu]

[END OF TRANSCRIPT]

The Moving Company dancers rehearsed all semester on the “Home” works while partaking in live special events around campus this semester like Regatta and the IUPUI 50th Anniversary kickoff event.

The student performers come from varied dance backgrounds, from ballet and jazz to modern and hip-hop. Student choreographers like Shay Sondgerath, a School of Health and Human Sciences junior, take full advantage of their dancers’ stylistic and physical flexibility. Sondgerath created a piece to Beyoncé’s “End of Time” that has been performed at IUPUI and Indiana Pacers basketball games.

Adrienne D. Jackson smiles during a rehearsal.
An IUPUI alumna, Adrienne D. Jackson leads a rehearsal with The Moving Company on Nov. 29. Her guest piece, “Home Is Me,” will debut at the IUPUI dance organization’s fall showcase, “Home,” at 2 and 7 p.m. Saturday, Dec. 8, at the Campus Center Theater.Photo by Tim Brouk, Indiana University

“It’s our fun piece for the year, just to use throughout the semester,” Sondgerath said. “I love choreographing, seeing the dancers’ abilities and what all they can do. It’s awesome to see them do well.”

Meghan Nowels, president of The Moving Company, grew up dancing tap, ballet, lyrical, jazz and musical theater numbers, just to name a few. She wanted to continue her passion while studying tourism, conventions and event management at IUPUI. She found most of her fellow Moving Company dancers had similar stories, despite their different backgrounds.

“I found a home at IUPUI with The Moving Company and found friends,” said Nowels, a junior. “To be able to come together and dance and share a special time together is really amazing.”

All the sweat from spending hours practicing an eight-bar phrase and connecting the moves to an emotional level is worth it when concerts approach. Performing in front of an audience and sharing their effort is a big reason for The Moving Company’s longevity.

“The feeling you get when you perform is like nothing you can describe,” Nowels said. “I think that’s why a lot of people continue dancing with us.”

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