The Georgetown University Dance Company (GUDC), a dance organization founded in 1974, held its annual spring performance, titled “mosaic,” on Feb. 17 and Feb. 18.

The dance concert included eight works, choreographed either by students, faculty or, Jocelyn Cox and Shylo Martinez, professional dancers and choreographers who served as GUDC’s 2022-23 guest artists-in-residence. The “mosaic” theme, a reference to the mixture of dance styles and storytelling, influenced physical elements of the choreography as well as the broader emotional concepts within the performance.

“This fairly broad theme provided space for students to reflect on things human beings often contemplate and contend with including belonging and community, growth, social challenges, facing hardship/adversity, self-care, friendship, and love,” Raina Lucas, GUDC Faculty Artistic Director who oversaw the production, wrote to The Hoya.

Lucas said the student executive leaders chose the mosaic theme only after some of the choreography was done.

“Although themes can provide a nice sense of direction, I have always felt that starting with one can limit creativity and discourage some students from wanting to explore choreography, especially if they already have some ideas,” Lucas wrote. “This year, most works in the show seemed to comment on the vivid complexities of the individual within the broader narrative.”

The performance incorporated several genres such as lyrical, jazz, ballet, contemporary and fusion pieces, according to Skylar Harbour (CAS ’23), the student artistic director of the spring show this year.

“It is a showcase of all these different choreographies,” Harbour told The Hoya “We really like to make sure that the choreographers have free rein and full say over how their pieces look.”

Caroline Ericsson (CAS ’24) has been a GUDC member for three years and choreographed a piece to “Life Goes On” by Bryce Vine for the mosaic show. While Ericsson had not previously imagined herself choreographing a piece on her own, she said the song inspired her to create a ballet-contemporary fusion.

Ericsson said she started the choreography process with several rounds of improvisation and modified her work based on new ideas and the dancers themselves.

“I would often start with standard ballet moves and then find ways to make them a little more creative, a little more natural and not just stuck in the kind of rigid rules of classical ballet,” Ericsson told The Hoya. “I think my dancers really brought my ideas to life, which is really so satisfying to see. I’m really proud of everything that we put into it.”

As the choreographer, Ericsson said she also had the opportunity to choose costumes and lighting for her piece, which contributed to the overall sentiment of her piece.

Both nights of the show sold out three weeks in advance, according to Lucas.

Hailey Walker (MSB ’26), who joined GUDC this year, said she was grateful to have many of her Georgetown friends in the audience.

“To come off stage and feel their love and support brought me so much joy,” Walker wrote to The Hoya. “It was exciting to share this important aspect of my life with them, and I was really happy to see how much they enjoyed the performance.”

Lucas said the production was a collaborative effort among student staff, lighting and technical designers, event staff and herself. Lucas said planning for the show started in early September, and dancers practiced up to 12 hours each week.

Walker said the rehearsal process involved making many small adjustments and constantly refining details, and she said she is proud of the final product.

“It was exciting to get to the point where the pieces came to life, fulfilling original visions or even exceeding expectations,” Walker wrote. “Collectively, we gained substantial endurance over the course of our rehearsal process, enabling us to add storytelling and performance quality into our routines on top of the physical choreography.”

Harbour said the spring show and the preparation leading up to it created friendships among the dance company members.

“My favorite part of the show has always been being able to spend so much time with the ensemble and getting so close to these dancers,” Harbour said.

After the spring dance concert, GUDC typically works on community outreach for the rest of the semester, according to Lucas. While programming was virtual in 2020, GUDC developed a series of community dance classes on Zoom that members of the Georgetown community could join.

Lucas said GUDC aims to host at least one large in-person community dance class each semester, primarily led by a student dancer.

“After the spring performance, GUDC refocuses a bit more on dance outreach and accessibility,” Lucas said. “It’s a great opportunity to introduce students to what it means to teach mixed level dance classes and inspires some to go out to the greater D.C. community to teach.”

Ericsson said performing in the show and choreographing her piece were rewarding experiences.

“I was never really given the freedom to explore movement so creatively until I came to Georgetown,” Ericsson said. “It was just really satisfying to see it all come to life — and after the show, to hear that people felt the piece spoke to them or that they related to it or they connected with it in some way.”