Fine Arts Programs

Laredo Morning Times | ExpressNews.com | Sunday, March 15, 2020 | E3 50th Anniversary Dance courses available for stu- dents include ballet, ballet folklor- ico, dance conditioning, flamenco, jazz and modern. Dance minors are also required to take courses such as dance history, improvisation, concert choreography and music for dancers. Multiple dance perfor- mances are available throughout the semester with all dance classes performing and filmed by Laredo Public Access television. The courses are led by professors Timothy Ru- bel and Jee Eun Ahn, and students practice and perform in two dance studios and a full-size performance theater. According to Ahn, each of the dance courses produce their own dance piece every semester. One challenge of teaching students with their own dance background is teaching them the basic founda- tions of dancing for art. Despite this, students at TAMIU learn the basics of dance, maximizing their own ability and how to collaborate with others for a piece. “We are focused on teaching correct techniques,” Ahn said. “They study about the choreography and improvisation.” A major focus for Ahn and the TAMIU dance program is to teach dance as an art form and not for competition. This results in more interaction between performers on stage and the audience. By using one’s body, the students not only connect through the dance but show their own experience and beauty as a human being, he said. “I want them to understand their body,” Ahn said. “When I got here, they wanted me to teach them cho- reography. I want them to be able to learn dance in their body, I don’t want them to copy me. I want them to find their own original move- ment.” By guiding them, Ahn will teach the basics of dance through the dif- ferent styles, but each student will use their own movement to change ballet. The basics are tools of dance, but the freedom learned in class will allow them to use those tools and expand on their dance, he added. “I let them play a lot in class,” Ahn said. “I change music a lot, so even if I give them the same phrase, they move differently.” Regardless if a student believes he or she is not a good dancer, Ahn knows they are great movers and are helped by their unique culture. “We don’t need to be the same; that’s my main interest and goal as an educator,” Ahn said. Another goal is to have students perform outside of the university, Ahn said. They are slated to perform on April 17-18 at TAMIU for the pub- lic. They will also have a dance piece on-campus on April 8. She hopes that through each performance, the students will continue to dance in the community and that the com- munity will open their minds to more modern dance pieces. Additionally, the Amalia Hernan- dez tribute performance will be per- formed by the TAMIU Ballet Folklori- co on March 26 in commemoration of Women’s History Month. Baile folklórico owes its inception to Amalia Hernandez, who started her dance company in the 1960s with a small group of dedicated dancers. According to Dartmouth Bal- let Folklorico, ballet folklorico is a collective term for traditional Latin American dances that emphasize lo- Spring Dance concert performers