UW-Madison senior to showcase honors project, will perform six dances

Ella Rosewood, a University of Wisconsin–Madison undergraduate, will be performing in a solo concert this weekend that she produced herself.

Growing up with no formal dance training, Rosewood — who graduates later this month with a bachelor of science in dance and elementary education — decided to pursue a dance major after she arrived at UW–Madison as a freshman.

“I never really set foot in a dance studio until I got to college,” she says. “I loved dancing and wanted to continue…I found myself taking African, modern and ballroom dance classes in my first semester.”

Rosewood always had the ambition to study elementary education and become a certified teacher. When she learned that she could be a dance major as well, she decided to combine her two passions, teaching and dancing, into her course of study.

For her senior honors project, Rosewood commissioned five choreographers from across the country to create dances for her. The funding for her project stopped there, but she wanted to extend the project further.

Rosewood developed a program called the Second Skin Dance Project. Working with pre-kindergarten through eighth graders, she produced interactive workshops for students to foster creativity and expose them to modern dance.

“I knew that my project would not be complete without an educational outreach component,” she says. “I wanted these kids to develop themselves as artists, allowing them to be creators of their own dance.”

Fusing elements of dance and education, Rosewood was overwhelmingly satisfied after her workshop with the students. As a witness of the transformation of her pupils, she was able to see how her performance reflected in the movements of each student.

Rosewood stresses the importance of bringing the arts into schools. For her, it is important that children have this opportunity of movement, as it is a much needed and underdeveloped part of educating “the whole child,” she says.

As she nears graduation and the completion of her dual degree, Rosewood is able to showcase the five dances choreographed for her in one show. The sixth dance is one she choreographed for herself.

After learning all five of the solos, Rosewood explains that she deeply reflected upon her project as a whole. Consequently, she made a long list of the qualities, feelings and subject matter specific to each dance she has learned and will perform.

“I wanted to see what themes emerged and the similarities between each piece,” she says. “Amidst words like transformation, evolution, and shedding, the phrase ‘second skin’ stood out to me; I had written it down on three of the five pieces.”

When she decided that “Second Skin” would be the title of her concert, all of the pieces seemed to come together for Rosewood. Though she will be wearing the skin of another choreographer in her dances, ultimately she will be making the dance her own.

The Dane County Cultural Affairs Commission and the Madison Arts Commission have generously sponsored “Second Skin.”

Rosewood will be performing “Second Skin” at Music Hall, 925 Bascom Mall. Shows on Dec. 10 and 11 will be held at 7:30 p.m. and on Dec. 12 at 2 p.m. Tickets cost $10 each and can be purchased at the door, the Wisconsin Union Theater Box Office at 608-265-2787, or online. 

–Aimee Katz