Fordham College at Lincoln Center (FCLC) students that are involved in the Ailey /Fordham Bachelor of Fine Arts program will perform in their annual concert at The Ailey School on Nov. 12 and will perform on Nov. 13 at the Ailey Citigroup Theater. Caci Pritchett, FCLC ’15, gave The Observer some insights on what we should expect from the concert.

The Observer: How is the concert organized?

Caci Pritchett: Each class, so freshmen, sophomores, juniors and seniors, has at least under 40 people. Every BFA student gets to participate to this concert, which is what makes it really special, but everyone has auditions and is assigned to one of two choreographers [either Ailey’s staff members or independent employee of the company] and they select the people from the class that they want.

Observer: So, each class had two different pieces, correct?

C.P.: Yes, we are usually split in half, or sometimes one piece would have less people. But one student can participate in only one piece.

Observer: How does it work exactly?

C.P.: You get graded for the class. Since September, we have been working on our pieces twice a week for two hours, something that is called “rep workshop.”

Observer: How is your piece going to be?

C.P.: My choreographer, Dar Shan was employed by Ailey for this occasion. He is also a filmmaker so he let us be influential in the creation of the piece. It is based on film noir theme, like an horror, scary black and white story.

Observer: How does he put together film and dance?

C.P.: I should probably tell you the story of the piece. It is actually really cool. The story revolves around three characters: the husband, the wife and the mistress. Obviously, the husband and wife get in a fight, but then the mistress comes and kills the wife. The husband finds out and eventually the mistress will get run over by a subway. During the piece projected behind us, there are different scenes that distinguish the characters and give them names.

Observer: Is the footage all shot by the choreographer?

C.P.: Actually, there is a walking scene at the beginning where we act just as pedestrians and as an assignment we had to go out and film buildings for two minutes still, then we sent [the footage] to him and he put it together.

Observer: That’s incredible. So you actually don’t contribute to the piece by obviously just dancing but also by putting together the choreography?

C.P.: Exactly, so when you watch it, you have to use your imagination a little bit. You feel like you are in a movie.

Observer: Are all of the pieces different from usual choreographies?

C.P.: See, it depends on the choreographer. For example, the freshmen have a piece by an Ailey staff member and that’s a little more classical dancing, whereas ours is a little more storyline-based and very dramatic. When you are watching it, you are watching the dance, but you are also captivate by the story. Other choreographers like mine are employed by Ailey in order to give us experience with a different style and different types of people and how they work.

Observer: Are there any other shows coming up?

C.P.: There is spring show, but that would be more select; not everyone will be able to participate. Next week, there is the Senior Show in which they will exhibit their own pieces and next semester, [BFA’s seniors] will have their own show where every senior will perform their own piece by themselves, a solo. Senior  students schedule out their own rehearsal time, choose their own music, select dancers [and] they choose the students in the school to do it.

Observer: Are you excited for the concert?

C.P.: Yes, it is exciting for me because it is an opportunity to see how the people in my class dance outside the ballet classes.

IF YOU GO:

Where: The Alvin Ailey Dance Theater, 405 W 55 Street, New York, NY 10019
When: November 13
Time: 7:30 p.m.
Price: Adults $20; Students $10
(On the day of the performance on the PE level, box office tickets will be sold at the following prices: Adults $25, Students $15)