On Friday, April 21, Kraushaar Auditorium and the Dorsey Center filled with families, students, and movement. The Goucher Repertory Dance Ensemble Spring Concert held that weekend featured a variety of different art that showcased the talent and technique of the Goucher Dance Department.
The show, which consisted of six performances, featured compositions from both Goucher students and visiting artists. The show was not limited to live media and also included the dance film Flow: Cherished moments in movement by Halley Price ‘23.
Artist Rosie Herrera’s piece started off the show. It was a creative insight into the minds of the dancers as they were given the chance to shape the piece around their own expression. In the second act, choreographer Maurice Brandon Curry’s dance arrangement A Classical Gas played with the traditional conventions of ballet and had some fun with it. Curry’s composition, backed by Vivaldi and Yo-Yo Ma, had dancers in tux inspired costumes show off their ballet skills and their theatrical senses of humor. Which included confetti, shouting, and bee stings. He dedicated it to the dancers who brought it to life.
Leah Gabrielle ‘23 presented A Choreopoem for the Angry black women stuck in Time; being black while hiding why I am angry, which she wrote and choreographed. This stand out piece presented Gabrielle performing her poetry while dancers moved in rhythm on stage. The piece was artfully moving and with the intermission immediately following, it inspired much conversation in the audience.
Gabrielle explained in the program,“I want to show not just the pain and progress but the joy that is found when we choose to see the world in front of us and the perceptions of those who don’t understand us and maybe never will.” The last poem which places Gabrielle alone wrapped in gold addressing the audience directly was particularly brilliant and bold. “This is for the Black women who have never felt understood; it is for the angry Black women they have made us out to be.”
Sam Koseff’s ‘25 composition The Fool features a dynamic and emotional performance from Laura Juda ‘23, Emma McAlpine ‘23, and Willa O’Connor ‘26. The piece, set to the music standard “Send in the Clowns, is a moody and visually masterful work–and a wonderful and captivating choreographic debut for the sophomore artist.
As an explosive finish to the showcase, Je ne sais quoi by Mustapha Braimah beautifully and joyfully celebrated the roots and innovation of African dance. The largest piece in the show, the dancers each wore unique custom costumes by a Ghanaian seamstress making the stage an all out celebration of movement and color. Braimah wrote in the program that the piece, “reflects the conscience and legacies that we’re all a part of and the universal journey that each person takes to find – and share– their passion.” Goucher is one of a select number of schools in North America that requires proficiency in West African dance, and the dancers displayed far more than simply proficiency when they brought Braimah’s choreography to life.
Creativity and expression is at the heart of Goucher, and the students in the dance department are cultivating a community that encourages unique and meaningful experiences. Next time you have an opportunity to watch a show, take it, it will definitely be worth your time.
By Athena Perry ’26
