The Dance Alloy Theater performance at 7:30 p.m. on Sept. 25 in McCrary Theatre, however, is especially exciting for the 49 dance major students and the countless number of dance minor students.

Before the performance, 15 of the dance majors enrolled in the choreography class this semester take a master class with the Dance Alloy Theater’s Executive Director Beth Corning.

Lauren Kearns, assistant professor of performing arts, hopes students will receive a “heightened awareness of contemporary choreography and performance” that will be “inspiring in their own dance-making.”

In the show Corning features her own works as well as pieces by modern choreographers Susan Marshall and Donald Bird.

“Arms,” one of the pieces by Bird, is one that all can relate to because it’s about the “fragility of relationships,” Kearns said.

One of the more unusual and notable aspects to this performance is the 30-minute European Intermission. While most intermissions give the audience a chance to stretch their legs, run to the bathroom or grab some refreshments, this respite will be quite intellectual.

During this time the audience members will each receive a cupcake with a question regarding the dance pieces they’ve seen. The goal is for the audience to congregate and discuss the emotional themes of the dances and what they expect to analyze and look for in the pieces coming once the show resumes.

The dance majors and minors will also help facilitate the conversations and contribute their own insight to what they’ve seen and their own predictions.

Kearns said the audience will get “a better hold on how one reads dance and interprets it,” and “that type of dialogue happening on a college campus is phenomenal.”

“[The European Intermission] would help me to learn a bit about how to interpret dance better,” freshman Dylan Ketcham said. Although Ketcham isn’t involved in the performing arts department, he’s interested in what the show could teach him.

Similarly, freshman Emily Adams said, “I think [the European Intermission] expands your horizons.”

With the master class for Elon’s dance majors and choreography students, the innovative and contemporary dance pieces, and the highly analytical 30-minute European Intermission, Dance Alloy Theater’s presence on campus is bound to be a beneficial and educational experience for all who attend.

“It should be a transformative experience,” Kearns said.

“Dance Alloy breaks that fourth wall [of the theater], figuratively and literally,” allowing the audience to, as Kearns described, “really witness work that is heartfelt and immediate.”

Reporter: Kara Griffin - 09/19/07