IC Students Get Creative with Choreography | IC News

The 13 students in the course, who came from majors across campus, selected an eclectic range of locations for their choreography, from a Jacuzzi in a backyard patio to a playground in a public park. Each week, they videotaped their compositions and uploaded them for the class to critique.

Lydia Kelly ’21, an acting major and dance minor from Syracuse, composed her exterior dances on a basketball court, in a park and on a dead-end street in her neighborhood. “I think the course worked really well because we used spaces that were near us,” she said.

Gwirtzman, who joined the IC faculty last fall, said he was impressed with the energy the students brought to their compositions, in some cases under difficult circumstances. “I have taught dance composition at universities for 20 years, and this was the most successful class that I’ve ever had,” he said. “It just speaks to the students — how insightful and articulate they are. They were so interested and invested and really went above and beyond with their work.”