Choreographers’ Gallery will  showcase original pieces from student choreographers and dancers at the Anderson Theatre on Nov. 17, 18 and 19 at 8:00 p.m. and 2:00 p.m. on Nov. 20. Tickets are available at the Student Activities Office information (SAO) desk or at gustavustickets.com

Choreographers’ Gallery takes place every other fall semester. This year there will be six student-choreographed pieces and a solo.

“There are a lot of aspects to each piece. You have the dances, the music selection and the amount of space. It has been really cool to be on the other side of the performance, to be a bigger part of the process,” Junior Gender, Women and Sexuality Studies Major Rachel Johnson said.

The process for each choreographer began last spring. Each potential choreographer filled out an application and provided a dance resume. Once selected, the choreographers handpicked anywhere from two to five dancers and began creating their own individual concepts.

While the students create and design their own pieces from scratch, there are advisors from different parts of the theatre department who provide assistance.

Costume Instructor Larissa McConnell costumes the pieces and collaborates with the concepts of each choreographer. Instructor in Theater and Dance Terena Wilkens, along with some students in the lighting and sounds class, provide lighting assistance. Assistant Professor in Theater and Dance Melissa Rolnick serves as the faculty advisor and artistic director to the project.

“I think it’s a really great example of students doing creative research. They have all worked hard in investigating the whole process and their own material and it’s important for their transformation. It allows them to focus on finding their own vocab. The emphasis I work with in teaching is to help them find who they are,” Rolnick said.

“Melissa is there to help us when we have challenges choreographing or if something doesn’t make sense. She is very good about not putting her own aesthetic on people. She’s a great resource,” Johnson said.

Throughout the semester, the students put in anywhere from six to 25 hours of work a week into their pieces. They also have had the opportunity to get feedback from various faculty members.

“There were three showings of each piece. Departmental faculty come and observe work and give us advice. As far as peer support goes, we also get to give each other feedback on choreographic tools,” Johnson said.

“I have seen all the pieces and each one is unique and separate and you can see the choreographer’s unique concepts,”Junior Psychology Major Katherine Arndt said.

“A lot of the pieces have similarity in intention, but the ways they look are very different. In my piece, I used props to make a lot of different images. For me, the process has been a lot harder than other projects. I want to make it something I will be proud of,” Junior Dance Major Hollie Luckow said.