The seniors are feeling bittersweet about their last performances at SMU. I had the opportunity to interview Kendall Lockhart and Sara Magalio before they went on stage at the Bob Hope Theatre, one final time.
“It’s a really bittersweet experience for us, we put so much work into our artistry and cultivating the best professional dance level that we can get to in our four years,” Lockhart said. “Finally wrapping it up and putting our final performance out there is just something we are really proud of, but we are also very ready to leave the nest and go on to new things.”
The Division of Dance hosts the annual Senior Dance Concert, where seniors choreograph and produce their own work, including production elements such as lighting and music. The theme for this year’s show was “Reflections.”
“We chose the theme ‘Reflections’ because almost every senior, decided to do a theme for their individual dance that kind of reflected on their time at SMU, or just their personal experiences in life,” Magalio said. “My dance is split into three sections, mental fatigue, physical fatigue, and emotional fatigue, and the sections, in an abstract way, reflect those feelings you have in college.”
There is no doubt that the dancers have become very close throughout their four years together. The SMU dancers spend most of their days together, from dance rehearsals to late night studying.
“Just the camaraderie the dancers have between each other and just helping each other get through late night rehearsals that end at 11 p.m., and then having to go and work on academics and turn in that paper that is due at 11:59 p.m.,” Lockhart said. “You really develop strong relationships with those people because they try and help you out in any way possible, so I think it’s the relationships that I am going to miss most about SMU.”
It is a nostalgic time for all SMU seniors as they reflect on their college years ahead of Graduation in mid-May.
“We are obviously in classes with our peers but then we are also in rehearsals with them all night, we spend every waking moment with the girls and boys and it’s kind of crazy to say goodbye, not just to classmates, but to friends because we are very close,” said Magalio.
