Pepperdine’s annual performances of Dance in Flight (DIF) begin this week, opening with tonight’s performance at 8 p.m. This year’s DIF carries the theme of “Technology vs. Nature.” The show begins very mechanically, emphasizing humanity’s reliance on technology and social media, and transitioning into the spiritual world of human feelings and relationships.
Dance in Flight originated at Pepperdine in 1993, with the goal of uniting a community of dancers and representing all types of dance. Since no dance major is offered at Pepperdine, DIF exists as a creative outlet for students wishing to pursue their passion for dance.
“We’re really a student-run dance organization that exists as an outlet for students to dance,” said Bill Szobody, the director of DIF.
DIF brings students of all backgrounds together, from religion to sociology to art majors. This year, out of the 51 dancers, 24 of them are completely new to DIF.
“We had a really strong freshman class this year and it was great to get to know all of them,” senior Katy Malone said. Malone has been doing DIF since her freshman year.
There are 16 numbers in the show, and each of the 51 dancers are allowed to be in a maximum of five. Auditions were in held September and since then students have taken master classes with dance instructors from Los Angeles, and rehearsed every weekend since October.
“It sounds like a lot more preparation time than it is really,” Szobody said. “When you factor in things like Thanksgiving and Christmas break, we’ve really only had about nine rehearsals or so.”
Preparations for this year’s DIF began the day after last year’s show wrapped. Szobody was driving and listening to NPR when he was inspired for this year’s theme.
“It was talking about the inevitability of humans becoming machines,
and I thought that was a really interesting idea, so I talked to Alex about it,” said Szobody.
Alex Nicandros graduated from Pepperdine in 2010 and is the Assistant Director for the show. This is Nicandros’s second year as Assistant Director, and she also participated in DIF for the entirety of her career at Pepperdine.
“The program has expanded so much recently that it just became too much for one person to handle,” said Szobody. “Alex was so actively present that it only made sense for her to stay on and help.”
In addition to all the dancers and directors assisting the show, auditions were also held in September for the 14 choreographer positions to choreograph the 16 numbers.
As well as being a dancer and DIF veteran, Malone also choreographed a lyrical number about Facebook, keeping with the theme of the first half, which is very industrial and mechanical in focus.
This year, for the second time, the show will follow a single soundtrack, meaning that instead of stopping in-between each number, one will flow right into the next.
“It makes it feel less like a recital and more like a performance,” said Malone. “It’s also really nice because in rehearsal it means that we get to spend more time together.”
Nicandros agrees: “It’s more of a family now and feels much more like a collaborative effort.”
This year will also incorporate videography and a larger set piece to accommodate the technological theme.
“It’ll hopefully be very visually stimulating, even more than other years,” said Szobody.
As everything was finally coming together this past week for tech week, the excitement was building for the opening performance.
“It’s really exciting watching it all come together and finally seeing the vision come alive,” said junior Kelsey Alexander, the Student Director of the production. “The story’s finally being told and we get to share it with others.”
When the set is finally built and all the technical aspects are taken care of, it’s a thrill for the students to get the experience of working with a real, professionally done dance production.
“It really is a learning experience for the students working with the crew and seeing how everything’s put together,” said Szobody. “It’s a great learning tool and very creatively fulfilling.”
In the end, although it is technically a club with the ICC, DIF is a dance company run by students that exists to let students express themselves through all types of dance.
“Dance in Flight is really a performance with all different styles and different backgrounds of dance,” said Alexander. “It brings together so many different types of people to share dance.”
Dance in Flight shows at Smothers Theatre, Thursday through Saturday at 8pm, with an additional showing Saturday at 2pm.
