When the Semel Theater’s lights dim and the music begins, anticipation hums through the theater. Bass vibrates through the audience and colored lights flash across the stage as dancers enter, immersing the crowd in a storyline with each performance outdoing the last. As cheers fill the room, it is clear why the dance companies’ showcases are a staple at Emerson College. 

There are multiple dance groups on campus. The two main groups that occupy this space are the Emerson Dance Company (EDC) and Emerson Urban Dance Theater (EUDT). Founded in 2007, EDC showcases a variety of styles including jazz, tap, ballet, contemporary, modern, lyrical, hip-hop, and musical theater. Meanwhile, EUDT is composed of three companies: hip-hop, contemporary, and tap. 

The founder of EUDT, Michael J. Love, started the group in 2006 during his freshman year, dancing to Janet Jackson and Britney Spears in rehearsal rooms once located in Colonial. Before the organization was officially recognized, its first show was in the multi-purpose room in The Max. The group was originally formed to create a space on campus for Black American dance. 

“Through EUDT, my dear friends and I were making a space for the Black American forms in which we were working to be taken seriously in the dance theater and concert dance space,” Love wrote in the EUDT origin letter.

Today, both dance organizations produce a showcase each semester in the Semel Theater, featuring student-choreographed pieces that align with the showcase’s theme, which is different each time. 

For the fall semester, EDC revealed the title of their upcoming showcase, “EDC Goes Digital,” in an Instagram post back in July. In August, the company further teased the show with another post with the caption describing the show as a “space where robots, cyborgs, machines, and glitches take over. When humanity and technology are so intertwined, how can we distinguish between the two? We invite you to imagine a future where we question how much control we give to technology and explore how the digital world shapes our minds and bodies.”

Fiona Wallis, a sophomore visual and media arts major and one of EDC’s visual directors, collaborated with co-director Kelli Brent on the theme and visual aesthetic for the show. Wallis said the visual direction was inspired by old magazines, album covers, and music videos, as well as the cyberpunk aesthetic, the blend of technology,and decay of the old in a near-future world. Additional inspiration came from the sci-fi young adult series “Warcross” by Marie Lu, a world obsessed with virtual reality, and the ’90s vaporwave aesthetic of alternative pop duo Magdalena Bay. 

Wallis said that “EDC Goes Digital” will explore the contrast between past optimism towards technological advancements versus the current anxieties people have towards modern technologies such as AI, virtual reality, and over-surveillance. 

“It’s kind of playing with the old and new, the hopeful and the now concerned, and anxiety and kind of dread towards it,” Wallis said.

Eleanor Greving, EDC’s co-company relations director, said the show will be a rollercoaster of emotions as the show is mixed with realism and fictional concepts. 

“I think the juxtaposition of these beautiful, highly emotional and intelligent routines and then this otherworldly type of choreography and storytelling is gonna be really interesting to see,” said Greving. 

Meanwhile, EUDT members are heating up for their “SWEAT” production, which was announced with a “Challengers” inspired teaser video, which can be found on their Instagram and YouTube. 

Serenity Holland, a junior interdisciplinary studies major and EUDT’s Artistic Director, said that the company is focused on collaboration and making sure the production reflects everyone in the company. 

“I focus a lot on making sure people feel empowered in their positions,” Holland said. “I want people to feel like they have the agency to make decisions.” 

Holland said that the theme, “SWEAT,” is inspired by retro sports advertisements and modern-day pop culture moments like Charli XCX and Troye Sivan’s “Sweat” tour.  

“It’s really about taking elements from different moments in culture and making them our own, portraying them through concepts like competition, games, and sport, and really just feeling like winners,” Holland said. “Even in contemporary, where we’re doing slower dances, we’re really conveying the story in a less on-the-nose way. It’s gonna come from a deeper place.”

Last year, EUDT’s theme was “FAME,” focusing on the glitz, glamour, and highs and lows of the spotlight. Holland said this year’s theme is building on the concept of last year’s, feeling empowered in the company’s next steps, and continuing to level up. 

“I think we were able to really feel ourselves and feel good in our skin, but I want this theme [SWEAT]  to be like we’re stepping into that, and like we’re actually making strides here,” said Holland.”I want the company to feel like they can do anything.”

Whether it’s dancing through the digital world or sweating it out on the dance floor, both EDC and EUDT are bringing the heat this semester, continuing their mission to push creative boundaries and foster a thriving dance community at Emerson College. At the heart of this mission for both companies, Greving says, is the combination of many different backgrounds and interests of the dancers.

“We all bring completely different perspectives of what we want to get out of dancing.”