The Lumberjack



Students Serving The Cal Poly Humboldt Campus and Community Since 1929

Tag: gabby connors

  • Surrender to the moment

    Surrender to the moment

    HSU dance department puts on its spring performance

    The Gist Hall Theater is small, intimate and perfect for the upcoming spring performance from the dance department. “Surrendings” features 11 performances, six of which were choreographed by students, and debuts on April 5.

    The performance focuses on aspects of vulnerability, social anxiety and experiences not fully expressed or understood by all. Tatum Olander, a junior majoring in dance, is performing in three pieces in the upcoming performance. Olander also choreographed a piece titled “I see you now,” which touches on aspects of mental health.

    “In dance, we get into our heads a lot and focus too much on perfection,” Olander said. “We need to embrace the randomness. My piece is based around what goes through the mind during a panic attack.”

    dance 1.jpg
    “I See You Now” | Photo by Kellie Jo Brown

    Olander said that she wants the dancers in her piece to use their own emotions to express themselves in order to illicit a reaction from the audience. Olander also said that she suffers from panic attacks and under-generalized anxiety and uses dance as a way to express herself and to release emotions. Emotions and social anxiety can manifest in many ways.

    For Gabby Connors, it has prevented her from fully expressing her diverse background. Connors is performing in a piece that she choreographed herself, titled “danh tính.” Which is Vietnamese for identity.

    “It is a very emotional piece,” Connors said. “It is about being from a multi-cultural background and not knowing where to fit in. The topic of the piece is something that I have dealt with and struggled with. When I got older, I felt more comfortable talking about it.”

    Connors said that the piece is a contemporary one, meaning that it is essentially a mix between modern dance techniques and ballet. According to Connors, modern dance came about as a rejection of the rigidity and structure of ballet. Contemporary dance essentially combines the fluid upper body movements of modern dance and applies the structured lower body movements of ballet and establishes a movement of controlled flow.

    dance 2.jpg
    “The Earth is Where We Make Our Stand” | Photo by Kellie Jo Brown

    Victoria Perez, a junior majoring in kinesiology with a dance minor, has been dancing since she was in the eighth grade and said that it has always been a passion of hers. Perez described dancing as a release from the pressures of her major and said there is a lot of overlap between dance and kinesiology.

    In dance, one has to focus on intense physical excursions as well as health and proper diet, which Perez said kinesiology has helped in understanding what works best. For Perez, the upcoming performance is about connecting with the audience and generating discussions. She wants the audience to take something with them after the show is over.

    “Surrendings is about expressing our vulnerabilities and having an audience there to listen,” Perez said. “We want them to start talking about subjects that they weren’t able to talk about or understand before.”

    “Surrendings” will run on April 5-6 and April 11-13 at 7:30 p.m. and on April 14 at 14 at 2:00 p.m. Tickets are $8 for students/seniors and $10 for the general public. They are available at the door or at the University Ticket Office.

  • In constant motion

    In constant motion

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    Susan Connors knew no matter what her daughter Gabby decided to pursue, she would never give up.

    “A lot of people don’t follow their dreams, they say I can’t do it or I can’t make it. She’s not like that,” Susan Connors said. “She tries her hardest to make sure it happens. She has a strong sense of self and a strong character.”

    Gabby Connors, a 19-year-old dance major at Humboldt State University, is set to teach advanced ballet at North Coast Dance next fall.

    Gabby Connors has spent 13 years of her life dancing, a talent she inherited from her grandmother.

    While reflecting on her journey, the young dance major said dance is a never-ending journey.

    “You have to keep working no matter what,” Gabby Connors said. “You can only advance so much in one day and then the next day you’re just off.”

    Gabby began dancing when she was in the second grade after her best friend’s mother opened a dance studio.

    “Dance is a very vulnerable artform,” Connors said. “You are asking your body to do crazy stuff, and you are asking your mind to let you release yourself and show those emotions and be vulnerable in front of strangers.”

    Gabby said that in spite of compliments from others and all the years she has put into dancing, she does not always recognize her talent.

    “I perceive it more as hard work than I do natural talent,” Connors said.

    Susan never danced growing up and was surprised by Gabby’s ability to pick up dance so effortlessly.

    Gabby has been dancing from the age of six, but said her path was never simple.

    “It hasn’t always been easy choosing dance as what I want for my life,” Connors said. “It’s really difficult when the one thing that brings you the most fulfillment and peace is also the root of a lot of your self-doubt and criticism.”

    It can be very difficult to manage the stress that comes with participating at such a high level in dance.

    Susan said that while she does not know much about HSU, she does know that Gabby is trustworthy when it comes to making the right decisions for herself.

    “Gabby is very independent so we didn’t have much of an input into where she would go,” Susan Connors said. “She was accepted into UC Irvine’s dance program, but they focused on pointe and she wanted to go with contemporary. I think Humboldt is a good fit for her.”

    Regardless of where Gabby chose to attend college, Susan said that she knew she would thrive wherever she went.

    “As long as she stays healthy, I think she could go very, very far,” Susan Conners said. “I am proud of her and glad that she followed her dreams.”

    Gabby transferred to HSU with over two and a half years completed in credits because of her advanced placement classes, and is already expected to graduate in the fall of 2019. She felt that she had gotten everything she could out of her high school experience, and that it was time for her to move on and grow.

    Connors said she moved from Washington to study dance at Humboldt State, not only because she loves the ocean and the trees, but also because of the smaller learning environment.

    “One of the many perks about the dance program here is that we are a smaller school so it’s a smaller program, which means you get a lot more individual attention.” Connors said “[It] is important for any major, but is very important for dance.”

    HSU Dance Program Lead, Linda Maxwell, is one of Gabby’s professors. Maxwell has been teaching at HSU for 12 years. Out of those 12 years, she said Gabby Connors stands out.

    “Gabby is probably the most talented student that I’ve ever had at Humboldt State University in the 12 years that I have been here,” Maxwell said. “She never talks during class. She does everything full out, and she is very supportive for students that are not of her level.”

    Maxwell said she remembers when a guest dance company traveled to HSU and taught a master class on HSU’s campus.

    “She picked up every detail. A lot of students were struggling and she was able to do it full out,” Maxwell said. “She has that ability to pick up anything.”

    For Gabby, dancing comes down to her ability to manage and transgress her emotions on the stage.

    “Having danced so long, I have gotten very comfortable wearing all of my emotions very openly on my face at all times,” Connors said. “I am a very emotional person so dancing is very comfortable for me.”