24 hours with Maggie Glenn

Each spring, the UNL Dance Program hosts Evenings of Dance, a dance concert full of performances created by students, faculty, and guest choreographers throughout the school year. Follow Maggie Glenn — a junior studying dance and marketing—through a performance day in her life.

8:00am // Wake up and get ready! Today is the first day of the show, and we have a lot of work to do beforehand!

9:15am // The first class today is Dance Pedagogy, taught by one of our dance professors, Susan Levine Ourada. Pedagogy is the practice of teaching. In this class, we understand how to take our dance knowledge and teach others through exercise progressions, developing lesson plans, and teaching practice.

An exterior photo of the Johnny Carson Center for Emerging Media Arts

9:30am // Our assignment for this day was to teach the class our ideal warmup for dance class. My group taught the class an upbeat and energizing jazz-style warmup.

The class listens to instruction from Susan Levine Ourada

11:30am // Time to head home from class! I packed my bag along with some snacks.

12:00pm // I stopped by the union to catch up on some homework for my Marketing classes and made a reel to post to the UNL dance program Instagram! Follow us to stay updated on all things UNL dance!

A computer and water bottle sit on a table at the Nebraska Union

Also found this wonderful photo taken at our dress rehearsal by UNL’s Director of Photography Craig Chandler! It’s always so exciting to see photos of our hard work!

Maggie Glenn, a junior in dance and marketing, performs the dance “Chasing The Present” — a piece choregraphed by Abby Brady, a senior in dance, global studies and French.

3:30pm // Came back home to get ready for opening night!

5:30pm // Picked up another dancer, Meg Brady, and we were off to the Carson Theater!

Maggie and Meg smile for a selfie

5:45pm // Arrived for check-in and warmups. Evenings of Dance is held in the Carson Theater, which is attached to the Lied Center!

Backstage at the Lied Center

6:05pm // Warmup starts! Each day, a dancer or professor will lead our warmup. Today’s warmup was led by our hip-hop instructor, Gloria Flores.

Students warm up on stage

6:45pm // Finished with warmup and now it’s time for some photos with friends!

A group photo in front of the mirrors backstage

7:30pm // It’s showtime!! But first, a quick flick with our professor and director of the show, Susan!

Students take a photo with their instructor Susan

7:45pm // The first dance I performed was called “It Happened to You.” choreographed by Katie Charest, a junior in the dance program. This dance symbolized grief, and the waves of feelings that come with it.

Group photo of dancers after performing

8:10pm // The second dance I performed was titled, “Chasing the Present”, choreographed by Abby Brady, a senior in the dance program. This dance reflected how busy our lives can be. What we should let go of, and what we should hold onto.

Group photo of dancers after performing

8:35pm // That’s a wrap on night one! The shows always seem to move so fast.

8:50pm // This evening, a few friends and I got together after the show and talked about how it went and our goals for the next shows. We didn’t stay for long; it was time to go to bed and do it all again the next day!

11:00 // I make my way home, and it’s time to hit the hay. The opening night jitters have passed, and I reflect on how grateful I am to have these moments with people who mean so much to me! Time to rest up and prepare for another day of dance!

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