Imagine training months in advance, spending three to four days in the studio, and perfecting your performance to display your skills to a full audience in Winona State’s Performing Arts Center for Dancescape. Then, two weeks before the annual show you become injured, preventing you from dancing in two of your three pieces. That is what happened to senior performer, Alex Tkachuk. Luckily, Alex was still able to perform one piece of her senior show. She also became a lighting designer and learned the ropes of backstage management.Â
Dancescape is an annual show that features choreography by students, alumni, faculty, local community members and guest artists who perform during the second weekend in February. It began in 1990 and was created by the current Director of Dance, Gretchen Cohenour. Every year Dancescape grows, performances differ, and no year is similar to the last. This year there were 13 pieces, including two solos, two faculty pieces, and one guest artist piece. There was also a 54-member production company. Dancescape celebrated their 25th anniversary with a theme relating to WSU’s sustainability advances.
In the 2014 show, Alex choreographed one piece and a solo. Through that experience she learned how to strengthen her leadership, dance, and music skills.
“I was honored to have that experience and loved every minute of it—although, I also came to the realization that choreographing is not my niche,” Tkachuk admitted. Through those past experiences and her recent injury, she was led to learn the art of lighting design. Alex said she was, “excited to jump into it and learn something new.”
Alex started dancing when she was seven, and it wasn’t soon after that she developed a love for the art. She started at a small studio near her Chicago home, and later joined her high school dance team. She has quite an expansive dance background under her belt, with five years of modern dance, ten years of Jazz and tap, and eight years of ballet and lyrical. Some of her inspiration dance movies are, Step Up, Center Stage, and Save the Last Dance.
With a full class load, abundant dance practices, and extracurriculars, it’s hard to believe Alex still manages a personal life. “Taking almost 18 credits each semester, having three to four dance practices a week, and having a personal life can be difficult. Most of us find ourselves doing homework between practices, late at night, or cramming to get it done beforehand. Having a structured dance schedule allows us to manage and schedule our time accordingly. It’s all about organization and dedication,” she said.
It is clear that Alex has a passion and drive for dance. Although, that is not all she is passionate about. She is currently majoring in secondary history education with a minor in dance. She dreams her future will somehow incorporate dance. She would prefer to teach it or start a program that would correlate with her teaching profession.
Although she had an abrupt setback for her senior show, she pushed forward, performed in one piece, and learned a new skill as lighting designer. Alex shows the essence of drive and motivation through all of her four years of dedication to the WSU dance program and the Dancescape event.