Featured Choreographers: Cassie Conlan & Steph Levine

Cassie and Steph dancing their lyrical piece

First time choreographers, Cassie Conlan and Steph Levine, paired up this semester to teach an emotional lyrical dance.

The girls have been housemates for the last two years at Marist and describe their bond as best friends. Conlan is on the Heart1 executive board, which is a club that MCDE is pairing up with for the Dance-A-Thon event on Saturday, Oct. 20 to raise awareness about dating violence. Levine is a part of the Sigma Sigma Sigma sorority at Marist and is on the Marist Dance Team. Both girls started dancing at a young age and joined MCDE their freshman years.

Conlan loves the club and how close everyone from MCDE is with one another. She says it is amazing to be able to continue her passion of dance in college, and it was one of the reasons why she chose to come to Marist. Being in MCDE has allowed Conlan to try different types of dance that she never has in the past.

Levine enjoys the club and how it allows her to express herself through dance while at school. It is a way for her to release her stress and worries.

The song that they chose to choreograph to is “A Thousand Years” by Christina Perri.

Cassie and Steph placing their dancers in formation

“We have wanted to choreograph since last year, and when we heard this song, we knew that it had to be used. The more we listened to it, the more inspired and creative we became, and we knew that we had made the right decision,” both Conlan and Levine said.

This song is about loving someone, no matter how far away they are from you. It can be a boyfriend, family member or best friend. This relates to Stephanie’s life at the moment because her boyfriend is studying abroad in Australia. Even though they are 9,000 miles apart, they still care about each other.

“This song represents that no matter the time, place or distance between you and a loved one, you can still feel as if they are right here with you. We try to show this in our dance by using different groups and a mixture of graceful and hard movements,” Conlan and Levine said.

As first time choreographers, Conlan and Levine were unsure of what to expect when they started teaching for MCDE. They have a beginner and intermediate class, so there is a mixture of levels of technique and dance backgrounds. At times, it is challenging to convey their vision to their dancers in an organized manner.

“The girls are learning quickly, though! Although this is our first dance, all of our dancers have been very cooperative and are so easy to work with. We were surprised at how many people were interested in our dance. As members of MCDE since freshman year, we have always aspired to be choreographers, and to actually have the chance to is amazing!” Conlan and Levine said.

The girls want the dance to be very graceful and elegant. Most of the moves are very flowy and soft, with the exception of a few harder moves.

They wanted the dance to be beginner/intermediate so all levels of dancers could participate. As Conlan and Levine were teaching the dance, they learned that they could advance some of the moves because the girls were so receptive to the choreography. There is a mixture of jumps, leaps, turns and technique throughout the entire dance.

Although choreographing for MCDE is a challenge, it is a rewarding experience that both Conlan and Levine love.
“It is so fun to see something that we could only imagine in our heads come to life in person. The progression from week to week and seeing how the girls are enjoying themselves is such a rewarding experience and makes being a choreographer so amazing!” Conlan and Levine said.
–Gina Rose Sirico