Gamut dancers pose on the Duke Family Performance Hall stage. Photo from Kaspars Golos ‘27.
On Feb. 28 and March 1, the Gamut Dance Company brought their year of hard work to the Duke Family Performance Hall. The performance was a dance lover’s dream, with everything from a country tap dance routine with Kenny Chesney music in the background to an experimental modern piece with glow-in-the-dark animal heads.
Ally Creswell ‘27 performed in the showcase and has been preparing, along with her fellow company members, for the show since September of this academic year. A lot of time and effort goes into making this performance a reality. “Members are required to take two technique classes a week for the duration of the school year in order to perform,” Creswell stated. Due to her and her fellow dancers’ extensive practice schedule, Creswell shared that they are “a very tight-knit company by the end of the year.” This closeness, she continued, made this year’s showcase especially bittersweet. “This year the showcase was so special because of the strong senior presence in the company. Almost half the company graduates in the spring.”
Their already extensive practice schedule ramps up during show week.
“Show week consists of one day of tech rehearsal, two dress rehearsals, then it’s time for opening night,” Creswell shared. “The DFPH [Duke Family Performance Hall] dressing room becomes a mess of costumes and makeup bags, and this year we couldn’t seem to escape the sound of the ‘Wicked’ soundtrack,” she shared when painting a picture of the fun and chaos that surrounds opening week. All of the hard work during the year goes into this singular, show-stopping weekend. Creswell even recalled being told by an upperclassman in the fall that “the Gamut Showcase is our Super Bowl.”
Seniors in the company who have done the show for the past four years reflected on their time. “It feels bittersweet because I’ve been involved in Gamut since my first year at Davidson and a lot of the members are really dedicated to it, which you can tell based on how much work we all put into making the show happen,” Alumni and Public Relations Chair Luna Noguchi ‘25 shared. “I feel really proud of us as a group and I think it went really well.”
Former Tech Director Milena Barrera ‘25, who choreographed the dance Remember When this year, felt grateful to have been a part of such a tight-knit group. “Of course, saying goodbye not only to my dance career but these people I’ve been dancing for so long with in Gamut is sad, but I find it really fulfilling to have created movement over the years that I can say I’m proud of. I can confidently say that Gamut has brought me some of my best friends who I know will be in my life past Davidson.”
The company’s hard work did not go overlooked, as the performance was a smash hit with audience members. Julia Richards ‘27 was amazed by the technicality of the dancers.
“I was so impressed at all the skills that brought this show to life, it is so impressive that our classmates are able to put this much hard work and detail into a show outside of regular college programming,” Richards stated.
First time Gamut attendee Brant Simmons ‘28 was equally delighted. “I went on Saturday night and was very impressed by all the artistry and hard work everyone involved poured in.”
The performance also gave audience members exposure to forms of dance they may have never seen before. “I was exposed to new styles of dance and their pieces were thought provoking, entertaining and beautiful,” Richards gushed. Simmons mirrored this sentiment. “There were various types of dances and emotions throughout; some dances were intense and experimental, others wholesome, and others lively and fun! [I] loved the variety, as well as the songs they danced to!”
Josie Swain ‘27 is an English major from Atlanta, GA and can be reached for comment at [email protected].