Jenny Showalter began dancing later than most, but that didn't stop her from finding success in the competitive dance world.
The assistant professor of dance was recognized at the American College Dance Festival Association 2011 conference for her restaging of Bill Evans' "Craps." The piece, which featured five Ball State dancers, was one of 12 dances selected to be performed at the ACDFA Gala at the end of the weekend.
Teaching the art
Showalter is completing her third and final semester as a dance professor at Ball State. The Department of Theatre and Dance gave her a one-year contract after her initial semester as a replacement for assistant professor of dance Lou Ann Young.
In her short amount of time at Ball State, Showalter brought different aspects to the department including a knowledge of kinesiology, new classes such as pilates and contact improvisation and a new style of modern dance.
"It's very organic," Cristina Gustaitis, a senior dance major, said. "It focuses a lot on breath and not necessarily technique, but how you transition between movement and the connectivity between movements. It really makes me focus on what's important in my own body and using my own range and challenging myself using my own range."
Not only does Showalter teach modern dance, but her background in kinesiology allowed her to incorporate pilates, yoga and other forms of cross training into her technique. Her style combines the artistic value of dance with a strong athletic ability.
One area in which Sarah Mangelsdorf, a member of the dance faculty who brought Showalter to Ball State, has seen Showalter's positive influence in the students' creative expression. Mangelsdorf said she taught a choreography class with Showalter in which she had the students explore new spaces built by architecture students.
"I really think she taught students in that class to think outside the box," Mangelsdorf said. "Instead of just stage choreography, she really pushed for them to look for different spaces, to different approaches."
Learning to dance
The Aurora, Ill., native was involved in gymnastics from a young age, but it wasn't until high school that she discovered her knack for choreographing routines. She choreographed her own gymnastics routines and joined her high school's pom squad and created its dances, too. Then she realized her dream was to travel and get paid to choreograph dances.
Most professional dancers begin their training early, usually no later than nine-years-old. By waiting until college to begin, Showalter said she was already behind, but that didn't stop her from auditioning for the dance program at Western Illinois University.
After succeeding at the audition, Showalter entered the program as a dance minor with a major in exercise science in fall 2000. Over the course of the next year she played catch up to the other dancers.
"I think, just in general, I didn't have any idea what the dance world was about. Everything was so different from gymnastics," she said. "You didn't have people yelling at you, really, and demonstrating all of the movement. It was more of a language thing."
Though her focus was in modern dance, Showalter took a variety of other styles, such as tap, jazz and improvisation, to further her training. After one semester, she was certain what she was supposed to do with her life.
Over the next four years, Showalter took as many dance classes as she could, not only during the school year, but during the summer as well. She performed in as many shows as she was able and continued to choreograph.
"I didn't really get discouraged. I like a challenge. When there's something thrown at me, I just tend to thrive as much as possible instead of shy away," she said. "I think that comes from my gymnastics background too. A little competitive edge is always good."
She kept in mind her newfound goal of going to graduate school and becoming a dance professor.
When the brochure for The College at Brockport: SUNY first arrived in Showalter's mail, she said she dismissed it. She already applied to several other graduate programs and had no intention of going to New York. After receiving two more brochures, she saw it as a sign and began to rethink her decision.
Creating a company
After making the right choice of Brockport, Showalter met dancer Lyndsey Vader, and over the course of their graduate studies they formulated the idea of creating their own dance company. In November 2009, their dream became a reality as Treeline Dance Works, a four-member company at the time, hit the stage at its first dance festival.
"I feel like we had talked about having this company for so long and then our first performance really solidified the fact that we could do it and that we enjoyed being in each other's company, and that we could push each other and be encouraging to each other," Showalter said. "So it was sort of about all these different emotions, not just about the choreography but about how we work as a team."
Co-directors Vader and Showalter vowed to enter their choreography in at least one festival a month. For nine months, they kept their goal, and the young company performed in one or two shows a month.
For the first year, Treeline Dance Works had to deal with the same challenges of finding funding and places to perform that every new company faces. Then came another obstacle.
Showalter was offered a job teaching at Ball State, halfway across in the country. Although it would mean less time with her company, she didn't hesitate to fulfill her next dream.
Looking to the future
Showalter will continue to teach at Ball State until the end of the semester.
Although she has been with them for less than two years, her students, such as freshman dance major Emily Schmidt, are reluctant to see her leave.
"She has definitely helped me gain a lot of confidence in my dancing, and that has always been an area where I have struggled," Schmidt said. "Since she has a style of modern I've never experienced before, I was able to become a more well-rounded dancer."
While the goals Showalter set years ago were accomplished, she still has plenty left to explore in the world of dance.
"I tend to constantly reflect on where I can go next," Showalter said. "I wanted to start a company so I did that. I wanted to be teaching and I'm doing that. Next, I kind of want to go back to performing for a while, so we'll see what happens. I guess I'm most proud of seeing something through until the end."
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