Second-year student Hayden Rivas (BFA ’24) discusses his experience creating a piece for the Sophomore Choreography Showing, in conjunction with the course Improvisation and Composition. The Sophomore Choreography Showing will take place Nov. 17 and 18 at the Glorya Kaufman International Dance Center.
My time at USC Kaufman is coming to a close, but until graduation comes, I will bask in the schedules that have carried me through my years here. A mix of dance technique, rehearsals and academic classes have been the backbone of my days from my first year to now. It is a structure that can be very rigorous, but I have come to love it!
We received an opportunity for USC Kaufman and USC Thornton students to produce and perform a Broadway-inspired song and dance number. The performance would air as part of the NBC Sports LA Fan Fest event taking place at the Coliseum, home to our USC Trojan Football team.
As a BFA student at the USC Glorya Kaufman School of Dance, our daily lives are filled with excitement, opportunities and new experiences. With a variety of academics, dance classes, extracurricular activities, social life, events and more, we get to be part of the USC Kaufman family and have an amazing college experience unlike any other in the country.
Cameron Cofrancesco (BFA ’22) shared his experience working with guest artist Peter Chu. According to Cofrancesco, “Working with guest artist Peter Chu was a lively and refreshing experience. Chu emphasizes connecting with the body on a deeper level and initiating movement in ways I’ve never been taught before.”
As part of our Repertory and Performance course this semester, third and fourth-year students get to work with many different guest artists on creating solo material. Elise Monson (BFA ’22) discusses working with guest artist Toyin Sogunro, a Los Angeles-based dance artist from Ladies of Hip-Hop.
Here at the USC Glorya Kaufman School of Dance, my schedule is pretty hectic. As a BFA student, I have a schedule filled with many dance and academic classes. This is a day in my life as a first year at USC Kaufman!
Eli Alford (BFA ’22) shares his experience working with guest artist Kara Wilkes, the current rehearsal director for Alonzo King LINES Ballet. Wilkes taught choreography to upperclass BFA students through Zoom from Oakland, Calif. The solos will later be professionally filmed for the students’ reels.
Functioning as a conservatory within a university, USC Kaufman enables its students to investigate other areas of academic or artistic interests within one of the world’s leading research institutions. Eli Alford (BFA ’22) talks about how his minor and general education courses influence his dance practices.
At USC Kaufman, students have the opportunity to enroll in Repertory and Performance where they learn established repertoire and explore the creation process of new works. Elise Monson (BFA ’22) describes her experience in this course as it varies each semester in what is taught and who is brought in for new creations.
One of my most memorable classroom experiences so far would have to be Afro-Cuban with Professor Anindo Marshall. Until the Kaufman Summer Bridge, I hadn’t had the opportunity to learn from Professor Marshall nor experience this exciting dance form. In class, she and one of our incredible accompanists drums as we create polyrhythms with our bodies and movement. The high energy drumming paired with the expressive movement creates an experience unlike anything that can be felt online.
After a long year of virtual dance, I was eager to participate in a few in-person summer intensives, including Laguna Dance Festival in Irvine, Calif. and SHARE: The Dance Intensive in Paris, France. Both intensives were a wonderful way to reconnect with my peers and the dance community as a whole, and my excitement to return to in-person instruction at USC Kaufman is more magnified than ever!
