INTERVIEW WITH CHOREOGRAPHER ROXANNE GAGE

 

    Quaran-Tea is a dance film choreographed by Roxanne Gage, performed by the Fall 2020 Austin Community College Dance Performance students, and was video edited and produced by Jack Gage with Engage Media. This film expresses the feelings and emotions between the hard times of being in quarantine during the Pandemic. The dancers in the film are dancing with empty teacups which represent family/friends not being able to be together during the shelter in place, “Your cup is empty instead of full”, Roxy explains, making you feel all sorts of emotions. The offering of tea and the gestures used in this piece express missing human connections and how we can all go a little crazy without them. This piece is a fun and humorous rendition of what many of us have faced during this difficult time. 

A long-time resident of Texas Roxy has been in the dance world for many years.  She started off dancing Ballet Folklorico which is a Mexican cultural dance.  After that, she found a love for Flamenco dance. But it was not until high school that she found a love for the Texas high school dance teams and began training in ballet, jazz, and modern to better her skills. Because of the history of the Texas Dance teams, Roxy found Kilgore College Rangerettes, one of the pioneers of college dance teams that are very well known and famous in Texas. During her time dancing, she realized she had a love for teaching others, and developed ways to analyze dance movements and tricks to memorization that assisted other dancers. That is when she decided to finish her schooling to become a dance educator.  At Austin Community College Roxy teaches Jazz, Modern, Performance, Composition/Choreography, and Dance Production. Check out the Spring 2021 dance class schedule to see what Roxy will be teaching.  Spring 2021 Dance Department Schedule

Watch Quaran-Tea in the Fall Choreographers’ Showcase December 4th & 5th at 7:30 PM presented by the Austin Community College Dance Department. Visit the Austin Community College Dance page for ticket information.  http://sites.austincc.edu/dance/ 100% of contributions fund dance student scholarships.

Interview by Brittany Morin