Renee Guittar laughs all the time. “If anyone wanted to be the most caring, adorable, loving, genuine person, they should talk to Renee Guittar,” Junior Elementary Education Major Ashley Neaton said. Perhaps it’s the wide, bright smile, the memorable laughter or the incredible amount of purple belongings she owns that makes people want to get to know her. But once they meet Renee, they understand that it’s her tender personality that makes her a great friend. “She’s completely selfless and as motherly as they come,” Neaton said, “without being over the top annoying.”
Perhaps the reason Renee can be so caring lies with science. Not all of us want to study the brain’s natural thinking patterns and reasons for thought, but Renee did. Renee is formerly a psychology major. She chose this because she was interested in dance therapy, studying how the mind works when dancing, since it is the biggest influence in her life.
Renee has been dancing since she walked the grounds of elementary school in third grade and can now, 16 years later, be seen dancing and choreographing pieces for Gustavus in its Shared Space and the spring dance concert, Balance Off Center. Her plans at the beginning of her college career were to major in psychology and become a dance therapist of some sort, but she has since narrowed her study down to mastering dance and choreography to be a teacher and choreographer of dance at the college level.
Renee choreographed and danced in many pieces of last week’s spring dance concert: Balance Off Center. She will be taking her solo from that concert on the road to the American College Dance Festival Association where she and one other piece from Gustavus will be performing among a multitude of the best dancers from institutions all around the country.
Renee has been involved in so many dance pieces at Gustavus because she is seen as a outstanding dancer and choreographer in both ability and attitude. “The pride she takes in her work is incredible. … She dances with ease and control and a maturity well beyond her years,” Professor of Dance Jeffrey Peterson said.
Native to Lincoln, Nebr., Renee began dancing in her younger years but started seriously dancing when she was in high school. She gave up playing clarinet in band and singing in the choir to focus completely on dancing. She won the Young Artist Award from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln during high school and entered Gustavus with the Evelyn Anderson Theatre and Dance Scholarship.
But Renee doesn’t dance and choreograph for the awards. Looking for inspiration in everything from conversations to dreams to various other dances she sees, Renee wants to be able to make a statement through dance. “It’s hard to imagine myself without dance because it’s been how I spend most of my time since I was five,” Renee said.
Renee’s leadership in dancing can be seen in last year’s January Interim production of Urinetown: The Musical. Renee spent her sophomore January Interim Experience helping choreograph the show as the dance captain of the cast. Not only did she help choreograph the dances, she danced and acted in the show as well. Renee’s gift for theatre began with her love of Disney movies. She spent her childhood watching all her favorite Disney movies, dancing to the songs and singing them at the top of her lungs. Her favorite movie growing up was The Lion King, but she claims that it is now probably Beauty and the Beast. “I just love ‘Be Our Guest’” Renee said.
Renee is involved in every aspect of the theatre and dance department. When she is not taking class, dancing or choreographing, she is working in the department office. She is responsible for writing press releases that can be seen on the Gustavus website for many of the theatre and dance shows that happen throughout the year. She is responsible for documents in the press release that inform when the show is, how much tickets cost and a brief synopsis of the show. She is hard at work even outside her busy dance life.
But all of Renee’s time isn’t spent in the Fine Arts Center. Along with Senior English Major, Jordan Walker and other interns, Renee also works at Big Hill Farm. She worked there last summer and will be again this summer. “I just love it. It’s not only a job, it’s a lifestyle. You get the seeds, plant them, take care of the plants, harvest them and then eat them. It’s just more emotional than you would think,” Renee said.
Whether it’s at the farm, on stage, in the theatre and dance office or in her room watching Beauty and the Beast, Renee is wearing her large smile. She’ll make you laugh, make you think or put you in a good mood. Senior Theatre Major Kim Braun, who worked with Renee at the farm, said, “She is hilarious, strong, brilliant and beautiful.”