Brianna Mendoza is a Freshman at IU and dancer in the African American Dance Company. She describes how she is considering majoring or minoring in dance next year.

AADC rehearsals take place in the Neal-Marshall Black Culture Center.

The dancers practice choreography at the beginning of rehearsal. They walk through the movement to make sure they are prepared to perform, as they will be showcasing their work to the group.

The dancers sit along the mirror, listening to Stafford C. Berry Jr., the director of AADC. Stafford encourages the dancers to reflect on their experience after they perform.

Mendoza begins performing with her group. The dancers start by talking with each other in preparation for the showcase.

Mendoza’s group continue with the dance. They switch formations by coming together and continuing their movement in a circle.

The group of dancers keep up their energy by executing the dynamic choreography. They then finish out their performance.

Mendoza and the rest of her group sit and discuss the showing. Mendoza describes how she is in AADC to embrace the emotions that come with dancing.

The dancers leave their bags in the dressing room that’s off to the side of the studio. During any downtime in rehearsal, the dancers grab water or take a break in the dressing room.

Before the end of rehearsal, the dancers do a run through of their group piece. The entire company is in this dance, encouraging the collaboration of all the dancers.

The group has one last final discussion with Stafford before the rehearsal concludes. They discuss what the dancers want to work on and consider before they participate in a weekend long dance intensive.

The dancers form one big circle around the room at the end of rehearsal. One by one, they thank Stafford as they leave the studio.

Light pours in through the skylight, filling the expansive space of the dance studio as dancers begin warming up in preparation for the rehearsal ahead of them. 

 The African American Dance Company at Indiana University provides students with the opportunity to dance and perform African, contemporary, hip hop and jazz dance styles. According to Stafford C. Berry Jr., the director of AADC, this company encourages embodied research, which is “research that you’re doing in an organic way in your own body.”

Before the rehearsal began, Stafford encouraged the dancers to be curious about exploring movement. He emphasized that traditionally, African dance is learned by doing.

 “Your body is the notebook,” Stafford said. 

 After moving to warm up their bodies, the dancers formed groups to review the choreography that they have learned. Some of the dancers participated in choreographic research, meaning they created and set the movement for a piece. The other dancers, including Brianna Mendoza, were performing. 

 Mendoza gathered with her group to review their choreography. The studio echoed with the nervous chatter of the dancers, as they quickly met with their groups in preparation for the showcase.

 The dancers sat along the mirror at the front of the room. At that moment, they became the audience members. Mendoza sat next to her peers, observing the other group’s performances. 

 Stafford took that time to state his observations and thoughts of the pieces that were shown. He opened the floor for discussion, allowing the students who were watching, to also describe what they saw or felt. Stafford then prompted the performers to talk about their experience by asking them to consider what they knew before the showing, what they know now and what they are still curious about. 

  After viewing the other dancers, Mendoza took her turn showcasing the choreography that her group had been working on. Her group then had the opportunity to talk about how they felt about the showing. 

 Each dancer in AADC comes from different dance backgrounds. From soccer players to show choir performers, the students all came together in this company to express themselves through dance.

 Mendoza is a studio trained dancer, meaning she grew up learning traditional dance techniques. Mendoza explained to the dancers that she aimed to grow artistically by being in AADC. The goal is to “let my emotions take over,” Mendoza said. 

 Mendoza is a Freshman at IU. She is considering majoring or minoring in dance next year. 

 Before the end of rehearsal, the dancers did a run through of their group dance. These pieces of choreography will be performed in upcoming shows, including First Thursdays on Oct. 7. 

 AADC is a dance company that encourages dancers to be curious and to continue researching dance by being present at rehearsals. As a dancer, Mendoza is hoping to embrace the emotions that come with dance as an art form, making AADC the perfect space to grow and meet those goals.