Like many other students, Lisa Torphy (junior-public relations), an Orchesis Dance Company member, is going abroad next semester. Torphy said she's excited about seeing a different country and experiencing a different way of life, but she also has some reservations as well.

To help her deal with all the feelings she is experiencing, Torphy said she will express her feelings about the trip in an unconventional way -- she's choreographing a dance.

Torphy's dance will be part of Orchesis' fall showcase, an end-of-the-semester recital held this weekend in the White Building. The dance will premiere with 10 other student-choreographed pieces.

"We take pride in that [the dances] are all student choreographed from our company," Orchesis President Megan Lawless (senior-marketing)said.

The performance covers multiple styles including contemporary, modern, lyrical and jazz, Lawless said.

"The choreographer can decide what the style is," Lawless said. "It's pretty well-mixed."

Lawless said the choreographers based their dances around topics such as friendships or a memory. Each dance is meant to showcase a special event or feeling for the choreographer.

Caitlin Goetz (junior-political science) also choreographed a dance for the showcase. She said her piece is about change.

"It's a really pretty lyrical dance," she said. "We usually pick the song, and then base the style of dance around the song," she said.

The 32 members of Orchesis chose the dances in which they wanted to perform, and Lawless said most of the members will dance in two or three pieces.

To decide which pieces each dancer wants, Goetz said the choreographers describe their ideas and then members of the company list their top choices.

Torphy said if you understand where a choreographer is coming from, it's easier to do the movements and portray what's behind them.

Melissa Jeffery (junior-marketing) said she chose the pieces she will participate in because she wants to try something different. She said she will dance in two jazz pieces and one that is modern and lyrical.

"[I chose] dances choreographed by people I hadn't worked with before," she said. "My favorite's definitely jazz, but I kind of wanted to branch off and do something a little different."

The showcase will be performed in a White Building room that Lawless said normally "looks like an average dance studio," but by adding curtains and bringing in lights and a lighting designer, the group hopes to bring more life to the stage.

Orchesis was first established in 1935 and is the oldest dance company at Penn State.

Lawless said Orchesis has had several other performances in the past, including the homecoming pep rally.

"We love doing those kinds of things, but the showcase is what we're all about," she said.