Dance Company brings Candyland to life through ‘WinterDance’

Dancers twirled, tapped and traversed the rainbow road among sugary scenery in “WinterDance: Candyland adventures.” The production, which ran from Friday to Sunday in Van Meter Auditorium, showcased 10 dances tailored to each of the boardgame’s sections and characters. WinterDance combines a “variety of ballet, jazz, modern, and tap dance choreography,” the Fine Arts Box Office stated. “Being able to see them cross genres is quite incredible, and that shows the diversity of the dancers that we have,” said Director Meghan McKinley, a professor in the Department of Theatre and Dance. “It’s a cohesive whole.” Scenes comprised the introduction of the game pieces, plumpy trolls, Mr. Mint, sour patch kids, Lady Licorice, Princess Lolly, Gloppy, Gramma Nut, Jazzy Nuts, Queen Frostine and the finale at King Kandy’s Candy Castle. Game pieces appeared in brief transitions traveling between lands. Students from all majors in the department helped prepare the show, including backstage work, tech design, lighting design and costuming. “It’s a dance company performance, but it takes the entire department,” McKinley said. The company placed a Toys for Tots donation box outside the auditorium doors to encourage audience members to give new, unwrapped toys. Presents collected through Toys for Tots are sent to “economically disadvantaged children of the community,” according to the Toys for Tots website. “Since this is such a community invited event, that’s the perfect time to be able to do Toys for Tots,” McKinley said. The company cycles through recurring themes for WinterDance. The company last performed its Candyland show in 2021. Choreography and set pieces are likewise reused for each rendition of the theme. “Every time we reset it, the choreography acts as a framework or an outline, and then, according to the dancers that we’re working with, we’ll make modifications,” McKinley said. Senior dance and exercise science major Ella Claire Johns first saw the show as a senior in high school. “It’s part of the reason I wanted to come here,” Johns said. Dancers promoted the production this year by visiting elementary schools and local studios, encouraging families and children to attend. The company held a kids day with the National Dance Education Organization in early November. The company decorated its studios in Candyland style. Children met the characters, got a sneak peak of the show, and received free children’s tickets. The company implemented compensated pricing for the university community this year, discounting tickets for WKU students and staff. “There was a discussion through Potter College to try to make the performances more accessible to students, to encourage the community and the university to come,” McKinley said. The Dance Company relies on ticket sales as funding. McKinley said it was challenging to balance “having the energy of a full house to support the dancers and navigating through the budget.” The Dance Company holds auditions every semester. Dancers this fall auditioned in late August and had learned the dance by mid-September, allowing the choreographers to focus on developing technicality. “It’s to get new experiences and also see how different people take on the same choreography,” said Loryn Shea, a sophomore dance major who appeared in the Gloppy and Queen Frostine scenes. Shea said one dance the company reset was Mr. Mint and his candy. “It was originally four soloists, and it is now four partners,” Shea said. Shea and Johns both acted as rehearsal assistants to choreographers for select scenes. Assistants are chosen from dance majors, who “stick by the choreographer’s side throughout the whole process,” McKinley said. Student assistants give feedback, record and provide notes. The department will come together again to produce the company’s second mainstage event: “Evening of Dance.” Seniors put together the choreography and blocking for the finale of the show at King Kandy’s castle. All characters danced on stage in a mix of styles from different lands. As the music ended, the dancers bunched together as if posing for a group picture and yelled “Candyland!” The curtains closed.
https://wkuherald.com/89189/life/dance-company-brings-candyland-to-life-through-winterdance/