Dancers Take the Stage with Purdue Contemporary Dance Company

Dance is a powerful art form that transcends mere movement. It is an expression without words that many utilize as a powerful stress reliever. Dance facilitates creative connections, grounds dancers and provides an emotional and physical outlet. At Purdue Contemporary Dance Company (PCDC), students find refuge in the art of dance and are provided with a collaborative environment and chances to perform.

PCDC is an organization that gives students interested in modern or contemporary dance opportunities to expand their knowledge and passion for this art form further. Members learn and create modern dance through workshops and rehearsals with choreographers and perform in a concert at the end of the semester. PCDC provides students with opportunities to interact with students and faculty artists in creating inventive dance works.

"Dance has always been a great stress reliever, social activity and creative outlet to ground myself in and balance my STEM activities,” shares Sheila Patel, biology major, dance minor and president of Purdue Contemporary Dance Company (PCDC).

Patel began her involvement with PCDC during her first semester as a first-year student and her love only grew for the organization over the years. 

“My first year I really enjoyed PCDC meeting all the new people and being able to play an active role in the dance that was created,” Patel reflects. “As I attended more club meetings and got to meet the people on the board, I realized I wanted a more evolved role in the club to help behind the scenes and create a really fun environment for everyone.”

Patel’s role as president has helped her learn to work in diverse groups and see beyond the dance and rehearsal process. As a leader, she strives to explore different ways to make the club as inclusive as possible.

“I like that PCDC has a structured rehearsal process,” says Patel. “You audition at the beginning of the semester, and after this, you work with a choreographer and group of dancers to prepare for a performance.”

Auditions open at the beginning of each semester and are available to dancers of all levels and backgrounds. Dancers, choreographers, sound designers and more work together to develop three end-of-semester performances open to the public.  

“PCDC is a collaborative process, having the opportunity to create these works from scratch with the choreographer is unique and amazing,” Patel reflects. 

PCDC has a mix of choreographers including faculty, students who apply to be choreographers, and sometimes a guest alumni artist who was involved with the dance program when they were students. Rehearsal varies between choreographers, often starting with movement generation. A choreographer might deliver prompts to dancers, using the prompts and the dancers’ ideas to begin putting together phrases. As the dance develops from dancer to choreographer, theater department student sound designers work tirelessly to create sounds from scratch for the end performance.

“All these components come together to create a beautiful end piece for our performance,” says Patel.

Though auditions for the semester have passed, those interested are welcome to attend the upcoming Spring Works 2025 Dance Concert (May 2-3) and keep an eye out for information regarding the fall 2025 semester audition dates. 

“Our process is very welcome to all movement experiences,” encourages Patel. “I highly recommend anyone who has the slightest interest in joining to attend an audition. Everyone is welcome and we are so excited to see everyone who has an interest.”