‘Rider Dances’ into Yvonne
Concert to showcase local dance talent

By Bill Greenwood

Normally, Rider’s Baccalaureate Honors Program theses are not considered entertaining. Consisting of a long paper linking two or more separate fields of study, the works are usually not the kind of material typical college students would find themselves digesting during their leisure time. However, senior Kim Hausler is looking to change all of that.

“It’s a really cool project, and I needed something to do for my thesis, but I wasn’t going to write a 20-page paper,” she said. “I think my abilities are better utilized in this fashion.”

Combining elements from her theater major with her dance and Spanish minors, Hausler will perform in, has choreographed and wrote lyrics for a song to be featured in the second annual performance of Rider Dances, which will be performed this Saturday and Sunday in the Yvonne Theater. Dr. Kim Chandler-Vaccaro, director of the Rider University/Princeton Ballet School dance program, created the program last year in order to give Rider’s dance students an opportunity to perform with area professionals.

“What I try to do is bring in exceptional local talent and have them work either directly or indirectly with the students,” Chandler-Vaccaro said. “A lot of what artists learn, they learn by mentoring, by being around highly creative people.”

To that end, Chandler-Vaccaro recruited at least one local performer for each of the program’s three sections: ballet, tango modern and jazz. The ballet section features two ballet teachers from the Princeton Ballet School, Mary Barton and Douglas Martin, who choreographed for and will perform in the show. The section also boasts live piano music from Dr. Richard Swain, associate professor of Fine Arts, as well as pianists Tim Brown and Jonathan Benjamin.

“Having live music is so different,” Chandler-Vaccaro said. “It’s really hard to come by because it’s expensive, and then it’s really hard to find a musician that has the capability to perform and, at the same time, accompany the dancers.”

The middle section, the tango modern, features acoustic guitar work from Fine Arts Professor Richard Homan. Together with Hausler and Chandler-Vaccaro, he had a hand in writing the song “Mi Fuego,” which will be performed during the concert.

“I wrote the song last year and Homan transposed it to guitar,” Chandler-Vaccaro said. “[Hausler] wrote the lyrics in Spanish based on the ideas I had.”

Many of the students performing in the tango modern section are primarily actors and actresses. As a result, they were forced to put in extra hours to transform themselves into dancers for the show.

“[Chandler-Vaccaro] is very big on acting is dancing and dancing is acting, and I’m an actor, and I want to experience more physicality,” sophomore Judah Frank said. “It really is true that there is such a transformation with the body that helps with acting.”

Unlike the other two sections, which both feature a series of pieces unrelated to each other, the tango modern section maintains a feeling of unity throughout, according to Hausler.

“The cool thing about this section is that it has this really strong Spanish theme to it,” she said. “We’ve put it in a very specific kind of setting and created a really specific mood for it. It’s kind of like a little mini version of something that could completely take on a life of its own.”

The jazz section will include pieces that mix elements of jazz and hip-hop dancing and are set to fast-paced music. It will feature Laney Engelhard, a professional dancer with the American Repertory Ballet, as well as 12 students. According to Chandler-Vaccaro, Engelhard’s contributions were invaluable.

“The students loved her,” Chandler-Vaccaro said. “I’m indebted to these artists that come in. What I pay them is just a token for their time, and [Engelhard] put in an extraordinary amount of time. She has really forced these dancers to move in ways that are very exciting.”

Rider Dances is made up almost entirely of original pieces conceived and choreographed by those involved. This helps the show to stand out against some of the other productions taking place at Rider, Chandler-Vaccaro said.

“I don’t think many Rider students have ever seen this type of work in dance,” she said. “Every piece is unique, and every piece was created for this event, unlike theater or band or chorus, in a way, where you get handed a score and [are told], ‘Play this.’”

For Hausler, the process of preparing her thesis project has been frustrating, yet rewarding. Now, she stands ready to see her vision come to life.

“It’s been very, very stressful,” Hausler said. “There’s been lots of ups and downs, so it’s been tricky, but it’s nice that it’s actually going to be realized.”