Slippery Rock University students Paula Rodríguez-Alvarez and Gianna Dobrich will perform among the top collegiate dancers in the country.
The duet that they performed and choreographed was chosen, along with approximately 30 other dance pieces, for the American College Dance Association’s 2025 National College Dance Festival, May 2-4, in Washington, D.C.
This is the first time in 15 years that work from SRU dance students was selected for the ACDA national gala.
Rodríguez-Alvarez, a senior dance major from San Rafael, Costa Rica, and Dobrich, a senior dance major from Erie, choreographed a piece titled “Sororidad en Tu Camino” that they will perform for judges and festival attendees at Georgetown University’s Gonda Theatre.
“It’s incredible that we’ve got this far and the fact that we’re able to create this piece is so rewarding,” said Rodríguez-Alvarez. “Getting recognized for all the work, all the research and all the hours that went into this is beyond rewarding. I’m getting recognized for something that I love doing.”
Rodríguez-Alvarez and Dobrich worked on the duet as part of a Laban Movement Analysis class at SRU last spring in which they investigated a social justice issue through dance. They chose a movement that protests gender-based violence and femicide, which is something that afflicts women in Latin American countries and Rodríguez-Alvarez fears when she goes to home to Costa Rica. Their work is inspired by the Ni Una Menos feminist movement, which originated in Argentina and means “Not One (Woman) Less.”
“This accomplishment means a lot in terms of bringing forth our choreography in a way that we didn’t think was possible,” Dobrich said. “It is a true honor to be given the opportunity, but also to bring awareness to the social justice movement that the piece is about. As someone who isn’t from Latin America, I found myself researching the topic a lot to properly uplift the movement. It’s a very big step in my dance career and I’m excited to take it to nationals.”
Rodríguez-Alvarez and Dobrich advanced to the ACDA nationals through several adjudicated concerts, starting on SRU’s campus before earning a spot at the ACDA Northeast Regional Conference at Rutgers University in March. At regionals, their dance was selected by a panel twice, first for the regional gala from among 39 other dances and then three went on to nationals.
The ACDA will present two awards at nationals, The Outstanding Student Choreography Award and the Outstanding Student Performance, both of which determined by a panel of judges and the winner will receive monetary awards.
More information about the National College Dance Festival is available on the ACDA website. More information about dance programs at SRU is available on the Dance Department webpage.
