After watching and performing dance routines and moves for four straight days, members of Iowa State’s Orchesis I dance group recently arrived home from the American Collegiate Dance Festival.

The group of 21 students and three faculty members attended the annual dance convention, which combines workshops and performed pieces of college students’ choreographed work.

“Three pieces were selected by a panel of students and faculty members,” says Amy Martin, lecturer of health and human performance.

“Students and a few faculty chose which pieces they thought were the strongest, and those were the ones to go.”

The three pieces chosen were “Flow,” choreographed by Martin; “Insomnia’s Lullaby,” choreographed by Michelle Kliegl, senior in liberal studies; and “The Pride,” choreographed by Demian Willette, senior in biology.

Members of Orchesis I performed these pieces for an audience of students and faculty members from other regional universities that also attended the festival.

“The pieces that were chosen were the pieces the panel felt best represented Iowa State,” Willette says. “My piece was more athletic and very different among the other dances. We all had [to learn] it within three weeks.”

Members of Orchesis I have been preparing for this festival since October of 2002. The pieces chosen were from Barjche, a performance done earlier this year. All the pieces taken to the festival were from the performance.

“It’s a learning opportunity for the students,” Martin says. “It’s an extension of education for the future dancers and dance teachers of America. That’s what college is for — that extra experience. They get a chance to get feedback from professional choreographers and see what to improve or what to change.”

Willette says the competition was well worth the money and the sacrifice of spring break time.

“The [festival] had the biggest personal impact for me,” he says. “I was planning on going on to graduate school in the fall, but now I will be moving to Chicago and dancing in a professional studio. If things don’t work out, I always have my original plan to fall back on.”

The point of the festival is to gain that extra knowledge and to see how Iowa State compares to other regional universities, Martin says.

“It’s just a positive experience, and it gives students an idea of how large the dance field is becoming and really is,” she says.

Faculty and professors also gain from the the festival, Martin says, as teachers have the opportunity to share teaching ideas and dance moves.

“The biggest thing you learn is how you are doing compared to other schools,” Willette says. “With the [festival], you can grow and compare and take things from different schools, and hopefully teach them a thing or two.”