Emory Dance Company Choreographer Rebecca Neish

By Raven Crosby, Emory Dance Program Office Assistant

Rebecca Neish; photo by Melisa Cardona

Rebecca Neish is a junior with a major in human health, and a minor in dance and movement studies. In her piece for Emory Dance Company she is exploring performance through various methods of dance. Neish stated “Often times I see modern dance as a very internally focused style and wanted to explore what modern would look like if it were performative, both to an audience and to one specific person.” Rebecca, who has choreographed for AHANA Dance (a student-run dance group) prior to EDC, obtains inspiration for her pieces from modern dance works that she has seen at Emory and around the Atlanta area. In her pieces, she strives to ask herself what questions she wants to answer with dance, and what she would like to see explored on the EDC stage; she accomplishes this through large and fluid movements that feel good in the body. 

Neish is both excited and nervous to see the final work come together on the stage April 16-18th. To overcome this and ensure that things run smoothly, Neish is “...placing trust in my dancers to take the piece and run with it. So far, they have done an amazing job, and I am so excited to watch them dig into the material more.” 

Rebecca Neish; photo by Melisa Cardona

Neish is working diligently in the studio twice a week with her cast. When asked what she hopes to accomplish through this piece she stated “I would like to connect with the whole audience—not just those fully entrenched in the dance community—but those also new to it.” 

As we get closer to the show date, we will hold another interview with Rebecca Neish to explore her full choreographic process.