Walking by the west entrance of the University Union last Wednesday, people were met with an unusual sight. People flailed around on the grass, stretching along the railing of the outdoor staircase with what looked like pole dancing moves and running around in the bushes in a bizarre game of tag.

What seemed to be something straight out of the loony bin was actually part of a class.

The students of Dance Improvisation (DNCE 121) moved around in seemingly random, and often strange looking, ways that were strung together. The strange movements are an example of choreography techniques used in preparation by some of the students for a concert titled “Something Fierce.”

Starting with solo improvisation, students in the class learn to dance off of the top of their head. No “position one” or “pliee,” just movement.

The goal of the class is to use improvisation as a key to dancers finding their own style of movement rather than simply mimicking those around them, according to assistant professor Lorelei Bayne, who teaches the class.

“We have to think outside the box,” Kendra Mace, a senior in psychology and dance, said.

In addition to solo improvisation, students learn how to improvise with other people.

As part of this learning process, the class works on a site specific movement score. The class decides on a location somewhere on campus and then plans a 30-minute movement score. The movement score consists of improvised sections that can be solo or involve up to the whole class.

Participants did everything from what looked like a game of duck-duck-goose to movements reminiscent of an interpretive dance performance using the railing of the outdoor stairway to the second floor of the Union.

Students came up to Bayne or spectators and commented on their outfits.

“There’s a hill here and there’s the stairs. – They just used everything around them,” Mace said.”One girl who was walking by was twirling her hair in her fingers, so they did the same thing. It was their chance to mock everyone that was watching them.”

People walking by noticed the unusual sight, with some taking pictures on their camera phones from the second floor balcony.

“At first you feel embarrassed, but then you start to feel comfortable,” said Dana Detweiler, a senior in dance and one of the choreographers for “Something Fierce.”

The class stems from the beginning of contact improvisation in the ’60s, Bayne said.

“The class teaches movement stations and directions,” Linda Goodrich, the coordinator of the dance program, said.

Goodrich said the site specific performance was the culminating project for the semester and it coincides with a senior dance concert choreographed by nine students. Bayne said improvisation is used as a tool to help choreographers.

“They learn their own movement vocabulary so that when they choreograph things they don’t make something that looks like everything else out there,” Bayne said.

The class is offered every other semester. It is a requirement for dance majors and an elective for dance minors.

The “Something Fierce” concert on Friday was a display of what the students had learned about choreography during their time at Sacramento State.

“There’s six to 10 minutes that they have to choreograph,” Jolie Roberts, the coach and director of the dance team, said.

Those six to 10 minutes could be filled with anything from moves that look as though they came off of the ballet stage to fast-paced gyrations that might have been transplanted from a local dance club.

As for the music accompanying the dance, anything was fair game. Some pieces used soft piano music while others used a flute. Still, others went so far as to use songs by artists such as Apocalyptica and the Ying Yang Twins.

“The music and genre is pretty much up to them,” said Bayne, who directed the show.

The choreographers took license to do almost anything that they wanted and ran with it.One piece, entitled “Down to Earth,” used African drumming to get the heart rates of the audience racing. Four men and two women made their way back and forth across the stage, some running backward and moving quickly, others slowly hopping across the back of the stage as other dancers moved in front.

There was also some hip-thrusting innuendo that brought hoots and hollers from the audience.”I just had to make something that was truly organic,” Shauna Segler, who choreographed the piece, said.

The final piece of the night had people laughing.

“The last piece really is odd, but in a good way,” Bayne said.

In addition to three dancers moving with fluidity across the stage, there was a joker with a large plush die, a man in a tuxedo reading random information out of the phone book, two girls constantly reciting random science terms while giving off radiant smiles, as well as a few other random people.

Sarah Henshaw, the choreographer of the piece, entitled “Tribute,” said her piece was so unusual because of her feelings toward the department.

“I was mad at the faculty for belittling my pieces,” Henshaw said with a laugh.

“Tribute” was not aimed at the faculty, however. Instead, it had a deeper meaning.

“It’s really about people being true to themselves and following their hearts,” Henshaw said.

Jenna Hughes can be reached at [email protected]