Student dancers showcased their skills -- from classical to quirky -- for an intimate setting Thursday night during the Penn State Dance Winter Extravaganza.
The event, held at the Pavilion Theatre, filled the majority of its 300 seats. It featured dances by the Penn State Ballet Theatre and ETCH Dance Company.
There will be two additional performances at 7:30 tonight and 7:30 p.m. Saturday.
Performances ranged from traditional ballet routines to modern and interpretive dances, and from one dancer per performance to 12. It included a Beatles medley, which earned the most applause.
Each routine seemed to tell a story through the dancers' movements. Some were fast and upbeat, while some were slower and more emotional.
"They use simple, articulate movements -- you could really tell what was going on," Samantha Fleischmann said. "I thought that one was about human interaction and human relation."
Fleischmann (sophomore-kinesiology) said she has been a dancer since she was 3-years-old and appreciated the messages portrayed in the modern dance pieces.
She said the dancers showed "a lot of emotion," from flexing their feet in certain ways and crawling on the floor.
Compared to the ballet dances, she said, modern dance is less structured and sometimes more expressive.
"Modern [dance] is about the connection of body and space, and it uses the floor more ... sometimes it can go really well, and sometimes it does not," she said.
A lot of emotion, for example, was expressed during a piece in which the dancers wore only white towels and a mirror hanging around their necks to sit in front of their faces.
Leah Mueller, who was there mostly to see this piece because her friend designed their costumes, said it was her favorite of the show.
"I really liked the symbolism of vanity," Mueller (sophomore-music education) said. "I also enjoyed the energy of all the performers."
The dancers' energy and emotion didn't have to travel far, either, because they were so close to the audience.
Fleischmann said the small setting was perfect for the show because dancers could make eye contact and interact with the audience.
And the eye contact wasn't the only thing that affected the audience. Mueller said she thought the choreography was done well throughout the show.
"Because they had to perform to three sides, it was smart," she said.
Rebecca Colabaugh said courage was another notable part of the performance.
She said she was impressed with the dancers for dancing so close to the audience and showing so much emotion.
"It must be nerve-wracking," Colabaugh (senior-marketing) said.
She said she used to dance and always tries to attend Penn State performances.
"It's the perfect opportunity to see what kind of dance Penn State has to offer," she said.
