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Shawn SartlnDally Nebraskan
Members of “This Belle Tolies For You” Join hands before rehearsal at Mabel Lee.
i UJNL dancers prove their commitment
By Gretchen Boehr
Senior Reporter
Dancers at the University of
Ncbraska-Lincoln have made a
strong commitment to their art.
They spend about 15 hours a week
in practice, plus take classes, have
jobs and perform in outside dance
activities.
Melissa Mapes-Raasch and
Craig Ellingson arc two such danc
ers, who perform together in “To
Have And Have Knot,” one of
nine dances in the Lincoln Con
temporary Dance Theatre’s fall
recital, Non . 2 to 5.
Despite her cold and his back
injury, Mapes-Raasch and Elling
son practice their dance with a high
level of energy and attention to
I Grata E'linqson and Melissa Mapes-Raasch rehearse To Have And Have Knot, one o!
nine dances to be performed by the Lincoln Contemporary Dance Theatre November 2
through 5 In the Howell Theatre.
technique.
Laura Milan, dance professor at
UNL and temporary program di
rector, choreographed the piece, in
which two dancers arc tied to
gether at the wrist by a four-foot
stretch of rope.
Mapes-Raasch, a senior dance
major from Sioux Falls, S.D., said
she has been dancing since she was
four years old.
“It’s hard to sec myself not
dancing,” she said. “Dance is so
much a part of me.”
"danrPj. ~
Craig Ellingson, a senior musi
cal-theater performance major
said he enjoys all areas of the per
forming arts.
“I can’t say I’d rather sing, act
or dance, I just want to perform,”
he said.
After graduation he wants to
, perform professionally in one of
those areas.
Injuries arc part of dancing and
the show must go on, according to ■
Ellingson and Mapes-Raasch.
Ellingson said he bruised a
lower back muscle doing a dive
'roll while rehearsing “To Have
And Have Knot.”
And Mapcs-Raasch said she has
a trick knee that goes out once in a
while when she dances. She in
jured her knee performing with
LCDT last year.
But rehearsal continues for both
dancers.
Ellingson is in five pieces for
the recital, he said, which means
about 15 hours of practice a week.
Mapcs-Raasch is ip three and
said she spends about six to 10
hours a week in rehearsal.
She also is the director of Orch
esis, a dance organization on cam
pus open to all UNL students. She
also lakes 18 credit hours and
works 30 hours a week.
Many people are under the
impression dancers don’t have to
take classroom theory courses, she
said, but the requirements for
dancers arc quite similar to those
of any other major on campus.
“It’s difficult to fit in extracur
ricular activities with my sched
ule,” she said.
Ellingson is taking 17 credit
hours, works at his job and prac
tices with the Lincoln City Ballet’s
“Nutcracker.”
Mapcs-Raasch’s dance experi
ence includes louring with the
LCDT last year and dancing in
New York last summer under the
direction of Linda Nutter.
She also performed in “Gener
alities” last year.
During the summer, Ellingson
performed in “Cabaret” with the
Nebraska Repertory Theatre. Last
year he performed in “Sweeny
Todd,” “A Christmas Carol,”
“Urban Interludes” and “Gener
alities.”
“I try to do something in every
department,” he said.
Milan said Mapcs-Raasch has a
very powerful style of dance.
“Melissa is a risk-taker,” she
said.
This is evident in both Mapcs
Raasch’sandEllingson’s perform
ance in “To Have And Have
Knot,” Milan said.
“This particular piece lakes a
lot of guts to do,” Milan said.
“Timidity is not going to make it
and you have to take chances.”
Mapes-Raasch said she plans to
go on to graduate school to study
choreography, but first she wants
to go to New York and perform.
Ellingson said he wants to per
form after he graduates, but he
doesn’t know exactly what art
form he will choose.
“I enjoy the performing arts
because they put you in touch with
your feelings and emotions,” he
said. *4 When you perform on stage
you’re someone else, but there’s
still part of your life in it.”
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