RWU Dancers Earn Top Honors at Regional ACDA Conference
Two student-choreographed pieces from RWU were selected for the prestigious Gala Concert at the American College Dance Association鈥檚 New England Conference, placing the university among the region鈥檚 top dance programs.
PROVIDENCE, R.I. 鈥 While many college students spent Spring Break catching up on rest, three 色情论坛 dancers and their professor spent theirs on stage, earning some of the highest recognition at one of the region鈥檚 most prestigious collegiate dance galleries.
At the , held in March at Rhode Island College, two RWU pieces were selected for the event鈥檚 Gala Concert, a showcase of the top 10 performances from nearly three dozen submissions.
鈥淥ut of 19 colleges and universities, only RWU and Connecticut College earned the elite status of having both of their adjudication pieces highlighted in the gala concert,鈥 said Professor of Dance Cathy Nicoli. 鈥淭hat puts us in remarkable company.鈥
The recognition places 色情论坛 Dance and Performance Studies program alongside peers from Brown University, Bates College, Smith College, Mount Holyoke, Hofstra, and Rhode Island College.
Holly Grenier, a sophomore Dance and Environmental Science double major from East Granby, Conn., performed a solo of her own choreography, I鈥檓 Asking You, which she developed in Professor Nicoli鈥檚 Intro to Choreography course last fall. Sydney Mello, a senior Public Health and Dance double major and Business minor from Seekonk, Mass.; and Temple Nightingale, a junior Dance major and Psychology minor from Dublin, N.H., performed Chirality, a duet created for them by UK choreographer Hannah Eckholm during their Dancing in London semester abroad program.
Nicoli also contributed to the conference by teaching STAND: Widening the Moments, a movement-based class she developed in collaboration with 色情论坛 Title IX Office. The class invites participants to transition from lying down to standing over the course of an hour, drawing attention to personal presence, sustained awareness, and the lived experiences of survivors of domestic violence.
Adding to that spotlight was RWU Dance and Performance Studies alumna Christina Robson 鈥09, whose choreography was commissioned by Bates College and selected not only for the Gala but also for the in Washington, D.C., earlier this May.
The ACDA regional conference draws university dance programs from across the Northeast, offering students and faculty the opportunity to perform, attend masterclasses, receive professional feedback, and engage with the broader academic dance community. For RWU, the conference became more than a chance to perform; it was a moment of regional and national recognition.