By Pam Creech
Contributing Writer
On the third Sunday of each month, dance enthusiasts gravitate toward the Cameron Art Museum for the Works-in-Progress Showcase, an event that allows choreographers to present their works and receive constructive criticism from an audience. The series is hosted by The Dance Cooperative, a Wilmington-based nonprofit dance company. The next event will take place from 2-4 p.m. Jan. 18. All Works-in-Progress Showcases are free to the public.
Samantha Williams, a modern dance teacher at the Dance Cooperative, explained the showcase series is not a performance, but an opportunity to hear reactions.
“The informal showing series is not a show or a performance,” she said. “There are no costumes. It’s an opportunity for anyone in the community to present a work and receive feedback.”
Williams said The Dance Cooperative choreographers must present their pieces during at least two of the informal showcases before presenting them as a formal show.
“You get to see the evolutionary process,” she explained.
While the Dance Cooperative is the only studio that presents consistently at each informal showing, choreographers from other local studios, such as Forward Motion Dance Company and Studio 1 Dance Conservatory, have brought works to the showcase.
“Every showing every month is completely different,” Williams said. “The showings have a nervous energy because choreographers are working through pieces and dancers are still learning, but it’s a positive atmosphere. … They’re interested in seeing how people interpret movement.”
The fun and constructive attitude at the Works-in-Progress Showcase can also be found inside The Dance Cooperative’s classrooms.
“It’s a very relaxed atmosphere,” Williams said. “We really make sure we’re teaching our dancers safety and technique rather than competition and trying to be better than the person next to them.”
Williams, who holds a Bachelor of Arts in dance from the University of North Carolina Greensboro, said the ambiance at The Dance Cooperative is different than that of other studios she has experienced.
“The children really just want to dance. … They want to enjoy themselves,” she said. “We have very small classes and we like it that way so we can give the students individualized attention.”
The nonprofit studio offers low-cost classes for children and adults. Scholarships are available and no prior dance experience is necessary to take classes at The Dance Cooperative.
“Anyone aged 3 and up can take classes with us,” Williams said.
The Dance Cooperative offers classes in modern, ballet, hip-hop, jazz, break dance and contemporary styles. For more information about the Works-in-Progress Showcase or The Dance Cooperative, visit
www.thedancecooperative.org
