After a month of several rehearsals, late-night practices, and an unexpected injury to a fellow dancer (who requests to remain anonymous) the Brown Bag Dance series attracted large audiences of students and faculty.

Junior dance major, Kaitlyn McDermitt, said, “We all work so hard on these performances and we all put a lot of time into our work. I love to perform in front of others and I love to feed off of the energy of the crowd.”

A junior dance minor was injured during a dress rehearsal in which she hit the back window of the Own Arts Center Lobby causing the glass to shatter. The window was fixed and the stage area was cleaned up in time for the dancers to still put on shows in their preferred setting. Nine dances were performed each day in styles that ranged from lyrical and ballet to jazz and hip-hop.

“You must have patience, time, positive energy, and commitment to your work in order to succeed in choreography,” McDermitt said.

Any student in the dance department was able to sign up to choreograph for Brown Bag.

Freshman dance minor, Melissa Wallace, said, “The time commitment was a little stressful, but overall it was really fun. I loved it and I know all of the other dancers love it too.”

Wallace participated in a hip-hop piece named “And you are…?” choreographed by Meg Southscott. While the audience heavily applauded each performance, this particular piece received laughter as well. The choreography involved a comical aspect that included a guest dancer, Travis Carlile.

Audience members burst into laughter as Carlile played the part of a nerd who was rejected by female dancers playing characters that were “too-cool” to give Carlile the time of day. The comic relief added a sense of fun to the show that included other pieces that were more serious and presented heavy emotions.

“I have seen Brown Bag every semester since I’ve been at SMU,” audience member, Andrea Maciejewski said.

“Each show is different and each show is stronger than the last,” McDermitt adds. “I love seeing all of their beautiful creations. I am so blessed to be working with these dancers.”