UDers keep up momentum with Selections for Spring

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This past weekend, freshman Meg Crawford and sophomore Samantha Blake took part in the “Selections For Spring” performance with Momentum Dance Company in Irving.

Crawford and Blake are both full company members for Momentum, of which they have been a part for most of their lives: Blake since 2006 and Crawford since she was four or five years old.

They train at Forcher’s Dance Center, the rehearsal home for the company. They started taking part in the annual “Selections For Spring” performance in 2011, back when they were still junior company members.

For this performance, they rehearse about twelve hours a week, which has posed a challenge with school. Crawford, for example, balanced rehearsals not only with school work but also with taking ballet classes, teaching tap five hours a week and being a part of the lyrical dance club at the University of Dallas.

“It can be stressful, but I’m doing what I love, and when you’re doing what you love, it’s all worth it,” Crawford said.

When it’s time to start getting ready for the annual show, three to four months in advance, the company members rehearse for up to an hour after regular training. This keeps them at the studio for a total of two to four hours Monday through Thursday, and they usually get back to campus around 10 p.m., when they can finally start homework. They rehearse an additional four to six hours on weekends.

As the show gets closer, life gets more hectic.

“Thursday, I woke up at 8:30 a.m. to get my hair and makeup ready for dress rehearsal because I had to use my break between classes for running show-related errands, and immediately after my last class I had to run up to the studio to teach my dance class and go to dress rehearsal immediately after that,” Blake said. “This has been my entire life for the last few months.”

Crawford said that UD’s connection with Momentum goes back farther than just her and Blake: UD alumna Gianna Nygard is a principal dancer with the company, and Crawford’s mother, Becky Crawford, also a UD alumna from ’94, is president of the board of directors for the company.

Crawford and Blake seemed to have had a blast at the performance, and all the stress seems to be worth it. They both express a deep love for dance and for this company, which they have been a part of for so long.

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