Department of Dance celebrates 10th anniversary of MFA Performances
- Tuesday, June 27, 2017
It is the tenth anniversary of thesis performances for the MFA Choreography programme and this year the students donated all performance proceeds to various charitable causes.
The students choreographed their own professional performances which debuted at the Michaelis theatre in the Department of Dance. One MFA student, Sarah Fadel created a piece, called ZEKRA (Arabic for memory), which explored the subconscious mind, and people’s memories as influences over their perceptions. Her work supported the charity, The Children Cancer Centre of Lebanon.
Sarah said ‘This program was a journey to self-discovery. The lecturers have been great at supporting and guiding us. They would ask questions rather than only provide answers, which was very helpful for my creative process.’ See a video of Sarah's work here.
Sarah's advice to other dance students creating their own choreography is ‘Not knowing where to begin is the best place to be. Spend your time experimenting to see where your process will take you. Trust in it, and don't force it. Let everything grow organically. Your work will tell you what needs to happen next. Be patient, and open to change’
Another student Eun Ji Sung worked on a piece exploring how emotion affects body movement in particular looking at the emotion sadness.
Eun Ji Sung said: ‘Studying at Roehampton was an amazing chance for me to broaden my perspective on art and dance. Our professors were supportive and I could try out new ideas with confidence. During my choreographic process, dancers and I worked to create four phases of movement that represent sadness’.
MFA student Kali Allen led the group of students who would like to establish a new tradition for future MFA students to support charity organisations and the community with their performances.
Dr Tamara Tomic-Vajagic said ‘Our MFA Choreography students are working at a high professional and artistic level. We are so proud of their achievements, and humanitarian efforts that help important charities.’
The Department of Dance is rated number one for dance research in the UK (REF 2014). It has the world's largest PhD programme in dance and offers a new comprehensive master’s portfolio. The MFA Choreography programme provides choreographers with the opportunity to refine and advance their creative, technical and performance skills.