The University of Michigan Department of Dance presents Vigilant Ground, a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Dance concert at the Performance Studio Theatre. Tickets are free and will be available at the door an hour before the start time. The concert features choreography and performance by graduating seniors Paige Ashley, Anastasia Bredikhina, Annie Laforet, Madison Rogers, & Mya Waple, and lighting by Robert Farr-Jones.

Paige Ashley’s Tree Roots is a combined solo and group work that explores our past selves through memories. Her solo work takes on the perspective of what it means to forget the past and the isolation that comes with this state of mind. In contrast, Paige’s group dance brings with it a flood of memories from her childhood. Through moments of tenderness and love, Anna Bodescu, Alyssa Hernandez, Stella Lansill, Kennedy Marshall, Megan Piagentini, Claire Schick, and Caitlyn Wade explore the idea that our present self is made up of every single past experience, and to meet our present self is to also meet all of our past selves.

Inspired by the fast paced spycraft of the Mission Impossible movie franchise, Anastasia Bredikhina’s Rogue Nation presents a high voltage ensemble work for six dancers. The cast, Madeline Deck, Emerson Forbes, Bri Hicks, Jessica Serres, Brooke Shaw, and Olivia Weber perform thrilling, evasive physical maneuvers with a dynamism and stealth that promises to entertain and surprise. The dancers dodge and deflect obstacles while navigating intricate pathways around each other, tapping into the renegade aspects of going rogue. In her solo work, Escalate, Anastasia explores self-discovery through the mindset of the mythological siren, luring the audience towards her display of physical intensity. The idea of deceptive intentions plays out in captivating ways.

Annie Laforet’s group work, echoes of Him, explores the lasting effects of growing up catholic. The work breaks apart religious trauma and catholic guilt to find what lies underneath. Laforet and her dancers, Cynthia Cao, Leah Kropp, Nathan Mannella, Carly Perrino, and Isabella Garber toe the line between heaven and hell to find what is right and wrong. Original projection art by Elle Schwinderson.. Laforet’s solo, Mary’s World, is a dance dedicated to Laforet’s mother, Mary, who overcame intense trauma after being hit by a car and left in a coma when she was just fifteen. Against all odds, Mary woke up from the coma, learned how to walk again, and took her life into her own hands.

Madison Rogers’ Fight or Flight touches on themes of survival and what it means to feel “safe” when confronted with environmental or psychological dangers. Dancers, Eve Anderson, Natalia Gomez, Gabby Kiminyo, Megan Piagentini, Claire Schick, Amelie Vidrio, & Caitlyn Wade ask how we endure, persist, and outlast these challenges. In keeping the memories of her late father close, Rogers’ solo explores the complicated way that fight-or-flight responses manifest in the body.

In Mya Waple’s group, Channel Surfing, dancers indulge in a funky, dream-like aesthetic that centers around a complex love story. Transitioning between live performance and film elements, dancers Brooke Forrey, Chloe Kim, Curry Jackson, Gabriella Walker, Landrie Adams, Madeline Deck, Megan Piagentini, Mallory McKenna, Olivia Weber, and Peyton Price, will take the audience on a journey through time and space. Waple’s solo, The Billboard Says…, explores nostalgia and all its complexities. It captures the bittersweetness of reflecting on the past, while simultaneously diving head first into what has yet to come.