Albany State Dance Company presents evening of dance, orchestral music

ALBANY – The Albany State University Dance Company is gearing up for another performance Saturday, but this time with a live orchestra.

The Javacya Elite Chamber Orchestra, based in Tallahassee, Fla., will travel to Albany to put on the show alongside the dance company. The ASU Dance Co. performed with the orchestra and dancers from Florida A&M University in Tallahassee on Oct. 10. Choreographer Elizabeth Delancey, an ASU associate dance professor, said Patrice Floyd, the orchestra director, wanted to return the favor to the Albany community. 

“We are very interested in building community – not just where we are situated but also bridging the gap between the two,” Delancey said. “That exchange is a happy thing to do. I’m also thrilled about giving the dancers an opportunity to dance with live, orchestral music. 

Delancey said Saturday’s performance is many of the students in the ASU Dance Co.’s first time dancing to live music. The dancers took recorded pieces they’d already danced to — mostly contemporary music — and worked with the orchestra to adjust choreography to a live, orchestral version. One of the largest group pieces will be danced to an orchestral version of Chris Brown’s “It Depends.” 

Dancing to live music is a special challenge for dancers. 

“It’s a slice of life because when you dance with live orchestra, you have to communicate with the conductor and there has to be a rapport and there has to be a trust and then there also has to be that understanding that if the conductor has had too much caffeine, it is what it is,” Delancey said. “You have to stay with the music.” 

ASU sophomore Jazmyne Butler, a psychology major with a minor in dance, said musicians have different ears than dancers. 

“They hear different pitches and tempos, so when you actually dance it, you have to be in tune and aware,” she said. “It’s always going to be different.” 

The Dance Company puts on roughly two performances each year. Last April, the group performed its spring showcase, “Black Girl’s Window.” This was the group’s first performance since the Dance Company was revived post-COVID 19 restrictions.

“It was awesome,” Delancey said. “It was a feat. There were a lot of moving parts, and I was just so very proud of them because it was everybody’s first year with the company.”

Kimora Barker, an ASU sophomore business management major with a minor in dance, said the show was not the main task during the spring performance. The dancers are the main caretakers for the theater space on ASU’s west campus. In “Black Girl’s Window,” not only did they dance, but they also acted as the stage crew, cleaning up the stage area and laying down the marley dance floor. 

“We never thought we would have to wear safety glasses and gloves for a dance performance,” Barker said. 

Half of this year’s dance company is made up of new members who are learning what it takes to balance a school schedule and a dance schedule. 

Juliana Amaechi, an ASU freshman visual and performing arts major, spent the better part of her first college semester racing between theaters on ASU’s two different campuses. Amaechi, who has a concentration in theater and a minor in dance, was rehearsing for two performances at once – both dance and a play production.

“It’s been a lot having to balance theater and dance rehearsals, but I feel like I’ve done pretty good,” Amaechi said. 

Maya Salazar, an ASU criminal justice sophomore, was an avid dancer in middle and high school, participating in her school’s color guard. 

“I took a break from it during my freshman year of college,” Salazar said. “But I’m back because I missed it.” 

Madison Stubbs, a freshman ASU mass communication major, said it’s been an interesting experience managing schedules, transitioning from high school to college. 

“It feels like managing a schedule as a student vs. an adult,” she said. “Dance has taken up a lot of my time, but it’s been great.” 

Butler, who is in her second year with the dance company, said the new dance season has been hectic, but she’s committed, especially to the new dancers in the group.

“I enjoy sharing the space with my babies,” she said. “It’s fun nurturing and seeing them grow and develop and become more comfortable with us and exchanging not only technique but love.” 

Delancey said tickets at the door will be handled digitally, so she asked guests to be prepared; although, the group will take cash as well. Tickets are $20 for general admission and $5 for students. Doors will open at ASU’s West Campus Theatre at 2400 Gillionville Road in Building J at 1:30 p.m. The show begins at 2:30 p.m. and will run just over an hour.