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OU DAILY
A DANCE WITH
DEPRESSION Student choreographer’s work deals with emotional struggle SEE THE SHOW
Getting tickets to the Young Choreographer’s Showcase When: 8 p.m. Jan. 28-30 and 3 p.m. Jan. 31 Where: Elsie C. Brackett Theatre, 563 Elm Ave. Tickets: Can be purchased online, by phone or in the box office. In advance: Tickets are $25 for adults, $20 for senior citizens, OU employees and military and $10 for students. Day of: Tickets purchased at the door are $35 for adults and $15 for students.
FEATURED CHOREOGRAPHERS Students whose work will be featured in the Young Choreographers’ Showcase Ashley Coffin Amanda Evans Tessa Gidish Elizabeth Harrison Tye Love Isaac Martinez Cameron Morgan Xavier Santafield Manuel Valdes Breehannah Young
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JESSICA BARBER • @JESSICADYLAN16
ackling personal and emotional situations through dance has become a way to understand difficult issues for modern dance junior Manuel Valdes. “My choreographic process comes from more personal things, so I really tend to stick to emotional struggles I’ve had in the past or situations. So this year I decided to tackle one of the things that hits close to home for me, which is depression,” Valdes said. T h i s y e a r, Va l d e s i s c h o reographing a piece entitled “Reflections in 3” for University Theatre’s production of the Young Choreographers’ Showcase. The showcase will exhibit selected works done by undergraduate and graduate students from the Weitzenhoffer School of Dance. “It was hard for me to even think about choreographing it. I had to push myself to do it, but I think for me more than anything it was a stress reliever to just get that emotion out,” Valdes said. The piece is centered on three girls battling depression, but each girl copes with her depression in a different way. One is closed off and doesn’t want to talk to anyone about it, another is very naive and the last girl is very angry and frustrated, he said. Many of Valdes’ pieces end on good or happy notes, but with the nature of this piece and the
emotional turmoil, Valdes found it best to show that depression never fully goes away. It can be overcome but many fall back into it. “It’s kind of like a cycle. You go through it. It might stop, and you grow a lot more, but it can happen again, and you just have to keep picking yourself back up,” Valdes said.
“It was hard for me to even think about choreographing it.” MANUEL VALDES, MODERN DANCE JUNIOR To express these emotions in the choreography to his dancers, Valdes took the opportunity to sit down with his dancers about his ideas before working on the movement during his first rehearsal, he said. Breehannah Young, one of Valdes’ dancers, is outgoing and frustrated about her situation. Through conversations with Valdes about his vision, Young was able to go to that place while she was dancing, she said. “It’s just nice to work with a choreographer who has such a strong vision and passion,” Young said. “He was so clear about it; he knew what he wanted, and
he would allow us to explore that emotional side.” This rehearsal allowed Valdes to intertwine his experience with his dancers to produce movement and emotions authentic to his dancers. Valdes’ inspiration came not only from his own personal experience, but also from the music. To create the movement in the piece, he simply went into the studio to see what happened. “For me it was go into the studio and just see what happens. I didn’t really have an idea of what I would come out with when I walked in,” Valdes said. “I was really just playing around with different things. I knew after about the third rehearsal there would be a lot of rolling to represent the emotional roller coaster.” For Valdes, the joy of choreographing comes from working with other dancers and reflecting on his own life and putting those emotions into movement, he said. “I really believe that this dance was a reflection for me — it was something I felt. It was very personal and I was so comfortable with my dancers is that I could put it on them and work with them,” Valdes said. Jessica Barber
jessiedylan16@gmail.com
Choreographer: Manuel Valdes Title: “Reflection in 3” Dancers: Amber Bailey, Breehannah Young, Lyndsay Rosenkranz “Reflection in 3” highlights three women and their battles with depression. Valdes and the three dancers have been rehearsing the piece for three months.
OU senior starts scholarship for alma mater Encouragement is vital to give kids a reason to push through college MARY SMITH
@marysmitty21
An OU senior will be awarding a scholarship in his name to his Tulsa high school this spring, giving younger students the same opportunities that previous alumni gave him. Political science senior BerThaddaeus Bailey has created the Bert Speaks Scholarship for seniors at Central High School
that will be given away in May. There is no set amount yet, since he plans on having two more fundraisers in Tulsa this semester, but the scholarship funds so far have come from various donors and Bailey’s own pocket, he said. He has wanted to give back to his high school since his freshman year at OU and has been putting money aside toward it ever since, Bailey said. Now that this dream has become reality, Bailey hopes to benefit not only the recipient but also those who applied as well, he said. “Our students are encouraged
by the success of young people like Mr. Bailey who grew up in the same neighborhood and had the same teachers,” said Guy Yoes, a Central High School counselor. “The generosity of Mr. Bailey will inspire and empower a new generation of Central High School graduates.” The applications will be reviewed and given feedback by OU English majors, so students can improve their writing and resumes as needed, Bailey said. “Even if (they) don’t walk away with a financial award, at least (they) can walk away with see SCHOLARSHIP page 2
PHOTO PROVIDED BY BERTHADDEUS BAILEY SPEAKS
Senior BerThaddaeus Bailey outside of his old high school, Central High School, on Dec. 30.