Pacific Index

Mark your advent calendars for Pacific University’s Holiday Informal Dance

   Pacific University’s Holiday Informal Dance is precisely what it sounds like. 

   “It is an opportunity for students to showcase really short pieces that they wanted to create,” said Associate Professor and Dance Director Jennifer Camp. “It also is a time for our classes to present their final exams. When I say final exams, they are movement exams. For example, the ballet class will present their variations or some contemporary ballet. Students outside of that might make up their own holiday pieces that are just kind of getting us in the spirit for the end of the semester. We also have Unified Dance opening the performance and a silent auction.” 

  While not necessarily holiday-themed, these student dance numbers will surely spread Christmas spirit. Unlike some of the dance department’s other annual recitals, the Holiday Informal Dance is truly just that: Informal. 

   Camp comments on the casual nature of this production, “In our dance concerts, we have lots of lighting and things that we add to the elements of production. This is an Informal: lights up and they stay up, dancers come and go (from the stage), the lobby will be decorated, and I’m trying to get a holiday tree on the stage. We don’t want it to have a formal sense; we want people to feel like it’s fun and joyful and leave feeling excited about entering into the holiday season, the dances going on in our community, for the incredibly talented students that we have, and for all of the community work that we’re doing.” Camp continues, “That’s really what it’s about, ending the semester with joy and happiness and having people come out and join us.” 

   While the dance is titled a Holiday Informal, the students can make it whatever they want. Camp explains, “Students can put in whatever they want to showcase; some students put in very holiday-themed work, some of the classes’ (performances) might be very holiday-themed variations, but it doesn’t have to be holiday specific.” This diverse range of performances will make the audience experience so valuable. “Audiences can expect to leave feeling really joyful and hopefully recognize that dance is for everyone. We’re just a little piece of that that can hopefully help them maybe say, ‘You know what? I want to dance too,’ and maybe think about how every moment is a dance and they can be a part of it and are a part of it,” Camp shares. 

   This Holiday Informal is a must-see for anyone looking for an entertaining evening of dance and a joyful shot of holiday spirit. Camp concludes, imparting, “We work so hard on our main-stage shows, and I think part of being an artist is that you have to continue the practice, and this is an opportunity for dancers just to put work out there and present it and, again, bring in that holiday feel.”

Doors open for free on December 6.