Ember Dance Company, created by sophomores Ellen Stewart ’27 and Reina Jones ’27 last fall, is one of the student-run dance clubs here at Swarthmore College. Though labelled as a ballet and contemporary dance group, it has been described by company members as open to the diverse styles of each choreographer.
In a group interview with The Phoenix, Stewart and Jones shared that through creating Ember, they hope to create a space for people, specifically non-dance majors, to get involved with dance, choreography, and the arts with a lower time commitment.
“I think just being able to perform and keep dancing doesn’t have to be something you have to have such a big commitment to,” said Stewart.
All company members began dancing at a young age, usually between when they were toddlers and their early elementary years.
Ada Reddington ’28, one of the newest dancers in the company, described the company as “predominantly having participants that have dance experience,” but added that “anyone who wanted to try it out would be more than welcome to, and we would find a spot for them in our company.”
Ember’s rehearsal process begins in the prior semester, during which the leadership team reaches out to current and incoming students who want to audition and/or choreograph. After selecting choreographers, the creation and rehearsal process begins for them individually and is set in motion a few weeks later, once the dancers are sorted into each piece. During the semester, rehearsals are about an hour a week, concluding with a tech and dress rehearsal in Upper Tarble the week of the performance.
Describing this schedule as “pretty manageable,” Reddington added, “I think that Ember is very efficient in their scheduling process. It makes it very accessible to students, to participate without [a big] time commitment,
Dancer Xinyun Li ’27 also shared a similar sentiment regarding the rehearsals, commenting, “We were able to get so many things done within this limited amount of time.”
Even though the company is student-led and separate from the dance department, each interviewed member agreed that the dance department, and specifically the professors, supports the dancers both in and out of the classroom in many ways.
When founding the company, Jones said that “the guidance of the faculty in … shap[ing] where we [wanted] the club to go was super helpful” in addition to guidance with logistics today.
Li also noted that during both classes and rehearsals, she has always felt like she “received a lot of support on interpersonal levels.” Reflecting on this, she believes this is the reason why Ember has always felt “safe and comfortable.”
Gabby Nash ’26, from her perspective as a choreographer, stated “The doors of the instructors are always open. I talk to [Dance Department Senior Lecturer Chandra Moss-Thorne] and [Dance Department Visiting Assistant Professor Maggie Zhao] a lot about things that I’m creating, and they always want to see it.” When asked how she felt supported in general, she reflected, “I don’t know if there’s ever been a moment where I … didn’t have support, like, while it was choreographing something and I couldn’t go to someone to talk to about it. They take their jobs very seriously and [want] to help the Swarthmore students.”
A common theme expressed by the interviewed members was the accessibility of the company, both as a dancer and choreographer.
Nash reflected that in addition to having choreographing experience in the classroom, Ember, for her, has been a place to work with dedicated and hardworking dancers.
“It’s not that I didn’t have freedom before [coming to Swarthmore] when I was choreographing, but I think it was a lot of group-based work, and so it was very difficult to get to do something independently,” she said.
Encouraging students to audition for Ember, Nash stated, “They should take advantage of the fact that we have so many dance groups on campus that [are] trying to open up to so many different styles and dancers. Come to classes and come to the show and get to know the choreographers and the dancers, because they’re all very sweet and kind people!”
