The EIU Dancers will start the year by hosting try-outs tonight in the McAfee dance studio.

Dance has been a part of Eastern since the turn of the last century. In 1904, Pemberton Hall hosted the university’s first co-ed dance and since the 1930s, Eastern has been hosting concerts for students studying dance at the university. A dance group had been formed in the 1960s, but the director left with no one to take her place. Until 1981, there was no official RSO dance group open to dancers from all majors.

Then Nancy Nordtvedt stepped in.

Nordtvedt, then an associate professor in the physical education department, said students asked her for help.

“Some students came here asking if I could [form a group], so I did,” Nordtvedt said. “There had been a dance group before [me] but the woman in charge left. I felt there needed to be a place for students and myself to show our choreography for the community to see.”

Nordvedt trained in modern, ballet, tap, jazz and folk dances through private studios and was involved in a dance group at her alma mater, Montana State University. She said when she arrived at Eastern she recognized interest in forming a dance group.

Although the group originally focused on modern and jazz dances, the EIU Dancers have since evolved to incorporate many different forms of dance into their annual shows in March.

Dancers are given the opportunity to choreograph different numbers presented in the show.

“Unlike different forms of arts, we have to write [choreograph] everything,” Nordtvedt said.

Nordvedt said teaching a dance can be challenging.

“In dance you need to teach each person, on the individual and group levels, each routine,” she said.

In 1991, Nordtvedt was joined in her directing role by Jeanna McFarland, a professor in the physical education department. McFarland became the sole director when Nordtvedt retired in 2005.

The EIU Dancers hold auditions every fall semester and those who make the cuts enjoy membership on the squad for a full year. McFarland said this system allows members enough time to learn the dances for the concert in March.

Each semester new and returning members must audition. McFarland said students with dance experience are more likely to join the group, whether it be from school, studios or self-taught lessons.

McFarland said she looks for well-rounded dancers who can do more than just hip-hop or ballet.

Kelly Maher, senior elementary education major, has been a dancer since she was three years old. Maher studied mainly ballet and jazz, and heard about the EIU Dancers after their try-outs her freshman year.

She tried out her sophomore year and said she was afraid she was not going to make the cut.

“Not dancing in a year will stress you out a lot more than you think,” Maher said.

Maher made the cut and now serves as the vice president of the EIU Dancers and will take part in the auditions tonight.

“I think it is really hard [to judge auditions] because dancing is a personal expression. It’s compiled of different forms of expression, styles and feelings,” Maher said.

Maher said there is no right or wrong way to dance. “We are looking for the styles that fit our group, personality and dedication,” she said.

The EIU Dancers will host auditions in McAfee dance studio tonight at 7 p.m.

All are welcome to try out.

-To learn more about the EIU Dancers, click here.