We’re back with another Senior Spotlight for the Dance B.F.A. Capstone featuring fourth-year performer and choreographer, Mallory Marshall (she/her/hers). This semester, Mallory is thrilled to be a performer and choreographer in the B.F.A. Dance Capstone, “Making Our Mark”. She will also be the Dance Captain and Swing performer in “Head Over Heels”! 

What has your experience been like working on this show? 

Working on my piece, “I’m somewhere in here”, since summer of 2021 has been quite the journey. It began as a solo and developed into a group piece with 10 dancers. I had never choreographed in this format before, but the way things evolved and grew with my cast was really incredible to witness. 

What has been your favorite part of the process? 

I’d say my favorite part of the process has been seeing things finally start to come together. While creating an 8-12 minute dance, there were many pieces of the puzzle that changed and adapted before settling as the “final product”. Having my piece nearly completed now, I feel a sense of relief and joy while I watch what my cast and I have created across several months come together as a fully developed work. 

What advice would you give to students in our college? 

For students who will take on this Capstone project in the future, my advice to you is to begin brainstorming and developing ideas early in advance. Once the solo is created and the group piece begins to develop, the ball rolls much quicker than you’d think. Don’t put pressure on yourself to have everything prepared ahead of time, but certainly give it some thought prior to the semester starting. 

What are your future plans? 

My plan post-graduation is to audition for cruise lines. Dancing and traveling the world seems like the best sort of career to me! My long-term goal is to own a K-12 dance studio. Outside of performing, teaching and choreographing have been lifelong passions of mine. 

Favorite WSU memory 

One of my favorite memories at WSU was our “Bad Dance” performance in Choreography 3. I didn’t know that our class had such disgusting, awful ideas that could be turned into a dance. It was hilarious and certainly “bad” to say the least. 

Favorite show from the past at WSU 

One of my favorite performance experiences was in Dance Workshop’s 2020 concert, “This Is [Not] A Performance”. Working together as a student-led company to create a full evening length work was such a fruitful experience. Not to mention, our final portion of the show choreographed by guest artists, G^2, was something I will never forget. 

Something interesting about you 

A fun fact about me is that my most beloved style of dance is tap. I do a lot of contemporary at WSU but tap dance will always have my heart and be what I enjoy performing most! 

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