By Mirella Mendoza

Contributing Writer

Student auditions for BHC dance company.

Brookhaven College’s School of Arts gives students the opportunity to find career paths and earn an associate degree in the arts or a field of study degree in music.

Adony Rios recently quit her job of two and a half years to focus on her studies and is now in her first semester at Brookhaven College. She said she started dancing after seeing the movie “Step Up” and enrolled in her first dance class in high school. She is now a member of the Brookhaven College School of the Arts.

The Dancers’ Theatre gives students the opportunity to perform and choreograph routines, according to brookhavencollege.edu.

The Dancers’ Theatre held auditions Sept. 15-16 for students interested in participating in the troupe’s bi-annual dance recitals. Rios looked confident as she waited for her turn to audition in T100.

“The minute you get nervous is the minute you allow your body to shut down and not enjoy what you’re doing because you’re trying to be something you’re not,” Rios said. “So I don’t really let the nerves get the best of me.”

One of the instructors judging the auditions was Monica Saba, senior lecturer at the University of Texas at Dallas’ Arts and Humanities department. Key Meersman, dance department chair, said Saba was in the first graduating dance class at Brookhaven, before transferring to Southern Methodist University.

Saba is the resident choreographer for Collin County Ballet and co-director for the fall and spring dance concerts at Brookhaven.

Rios said she prepared for the audition by joining the Windmill Dance Company, Brookhaven’s resident dance company, as well as taking jazz classes. The dance company is designed to help serious dance students with technical experience in ballet, modern and jazz, according to brookhavencollege.edu.

The classes offered by the dance department range from ballet to hip hop, according to brookhavencollege.edu. Any student can join, no matter their level of experience. Auditions are held for membership in both the Dancers’ Theatre and Windmill Dance Company.

Rios said in order to be successful one must be consistent and dedicated, committed and come to every rehearsal.

Following her audition, Rios said she eventually wants to transfer to Texas Tech University. She plans to major in dance or theatre and minor in the other.

However, there are some students who are not aware of the classes that the BCSA offers.

Ashley Eisenkramer, a first-year student, has been dancing since she was 15 years old. “I started dancing my freshman year of high school,” she said. “My inspiration for dance was not making drill team the first time I tried out, so I started taking dance classes to improve myself.”

Although Eisenkramer is majoring in business administration, she said she is interested in learning more about the Windmill Dance Company and added that she hopes to take at least one dance class during the spring.

The Dancers’ Theatre will perform its first show at 8 p.m., Nov. 20 – 21 and 2:30 p.m. Nov. 22 in the Performance Hall. For more information about the performances or the School of the Arts students can visit brookhavencollege.edu.