Pitt students ‘dance or die’

As Pitt dancer Tim Joy performed a self-choreographed piece, he decided to forgo feet and walked across the stage on only his hands to a chorus of laughter from audience members.

Joy, a junior pre-education major, choreographed the dance “Stuck in the Mud” with Joanna Dehler, a senior psychology major, as part of Pitt Dance Ensemble’s annual Dance or Die fall concert. PDE, a free dance club open to all members of the Pittsburgh community, hosted the show 9 p.m. Friday, Nov. 6, in Trees Hall Studio.

The club holds an informal show every fall and a formal competition judged by professional Pittsburgh dancers each spring.

Dancers in teams performed 18 choreographed pieces during the hourlong show, including dances titled “Lamentation,” “Thrill of the Hunt,” “Blinded,” “Stuck in the Mud”  and “Behind Closed Doors.” The dance performances, lasting from four to six minutes each, spanned a pleasant array of moods that kept the audience entertained and engaged. The club has been planning and practicing for the concert since September, according to the PDE website.

In “Stuck in the Mud,” Joy plays a young boy who has lost his ball in a swamp and battles a creature to retrieve it. For Joy, public dance performances are nothing new.

“Growing up I did it as an extracurricular after school. I would do it five days a week whenever it got to competition season,” Joy said.

He continues to hone his talent by taking dance technique and masters classes offered by PDE, which invites a different professional Pittsburgh dancer to train the dancers every Tuesday night. The dancers practice various styles, from ballet and modern dance to tap and hip-hop.

Katie Schmus first joined PDE as a freshman when she decided her career goals would conflict with her ability to take professional-level dance classes. By participating in PDE, Schmus still has the opportunity to train with professionals.

“I have been dancing since age three, and when I came to college, I really wanted to continue my dancing. It has been a really great way for me to burn off stress,” Schmus said.

According to Schmus’ mother, Susie Schmus, who traveled six hours from Voorhees Township, New Jersey, to watch her daughter perform, her daughter still holds an intimate dream for dance.

“She is in school for a speech pathology degree, but she dreams to join the New York City Rockettes,” Schmus’ mother said.

Like Schmus, Joy dances for enjoyment rather than a potential career.

“I would love to [dance], but unfortunately it’s not my area of study and will not be my profession,” Joy said. “[Though] I hope to get my kids involved in dance.”

On Friday, performers donned different attire and color schemes for each dance — spanning from classic ’80s attire including Chuck Taylors, white T-shirts, bandanas and denim for the ensemble “Cut Loose,” an upbeat, rhythmic dance inspired by the original choreography by A.C. Ciulla’s “Footloose the Musical,” to all-black tights and shirts for the ensemble “Blinded,” which featured nine performers twirling and flipping over each other while blindfolded.

Some dances were fun and energetic, while others carried a more tragic message.

“Lamentation,” a dance choreographed by Brittany Garvey, began with the melody “Your Heart Will Lead You Home.” Nine girls frolicked on the light maple floor tiles, wearing pastel-colored dresses and curls tied up and loose. A few girls put others to bed on the floor under a soft, bright-colored blanket.

Dancers like Schmus said these concerts are a time for Pitt students to nourish a dancing itch they have had since they were young.

“The transition [to college] has been so much easier. This organization has provided me with so many different chances to come and express myself,” Schmus said.