Noemi Tejeda (blindfolded) and Joyce Vang rehearse for Senior Dance Concert 2018.

Dance students aren’t tucked away in a classroom when taking their final exams. Their work is presented on stage for all the world to see, and Sacramento State’s graduating dance students will showcase their projects with the Senior Dance Concert 2018.

Directed by Professors Lorelei Bayne and Bernard Brown, concert performances are at 6:30 p.m. May 3 and 10; 8 p.m. May 4, 5, 11, and 12; and 2 p.m. May 5 and 12 in Solano Hall Dancespace 1010.

Each student has prepared their individual piece from the beginning to the end – auditions, design, staging. Styles of music and dance cover the spectrum of contemporary dance, from blends of classical, ballet, musical theater, jazz, modern and postmodern.

Graduating senior Gelline Guevarra’s piece is called “Youthful Intellect,” featuring two female dancers – one of them blindfolded. Lighting is minimal, starting with just a “ghost light,” the lone upright pole with an uncovered bulb that keeps the stage lit when the theater is empty.

The performance, to music by Phillip Glass, was inspired by Guevarra’s relationship with her mother. “It’s about how she’s guided me through life and how, as a child, you want and don’t want to follow your mother’s rules.”

The blindfolded dancer represents the child in the piece, as she interacts with the light, representing her mother’s wisdom.

Because there are 12 student choreographers, the concert has been split into A and B programs that alternate each performance. The pending graduates have worked with 35 dancers, recruited from the Department of Theatre and Dance and the larger campus community. Each performance will have six student-directed pieces, with a concluding seventh piece comprising the graduating seniors themselves in a number by San Francisco guest choreographer, Sonoma State dance Professor Christine Cali.

Tickets for 6:30 p.m. performances of Senior Dance Concert 2018 are $15 general admission, $12 for seniors and students, and $10 for children. All other performances are $18 general, $15 for seniors and students, and $12 for children. Tickets are available at the University Ticket Office or (916) 278-4323.

For more information on Theatre and Dance programs and events, visit the department website. For media assistance, call University Communications at (916) 278-6156. – Craig Koscho