After only two-and-a-half weeks of rehearsal, and learning six pieces from scratch, the members of the Kenyetta dance company performed the program entitled “Power.”

The members of Kenyetta performed at 7:30 p.m. Saturday at the Doudna Fine Arts Center Theater.

Nicole Clarke-Springer, the program’s choreographer, said the first song of the program, “Nine,” was created in 2009 and was inspired during her pregnancy.

“I felt like I was being pulled in nine different directions,” Clarke-Springer said.

She said that she later developed the rest of the program to go along with “Nine.”

“(“Power”) is about getting pulled through life to just about the breaking point, but still trying to keep your center,” Clarke-Springer said. “Then towards the end there’s a realization that the past is the past and it’s time to move to the future. It’s all right, it’s a new world.”

Clarke-Springer said this is her third time working as a guest choreographer for Kenyetta. She danced professionally for 10 years until becoming a choreographer in 2004. She said her favorite part of “Power” was the creation and rehearsal process.

“Once it gets on stage it’s gone so quickly,” said Clarke-Springer. “I’m always inspired whenever other people are inspired. Whatever ignites that passion is what makes me go.”

Joe Musiel, a dancer with Kenyetta, said he was originally nervous about performing at Eastern because he was unsure of what the crowd would be like. But, after working with several Eastern students during a workshop 10 a.m. Saturday, he quickly became comfortable performing.

“The workshop was very fun, everyone was laid back and down to earth,” Musiel said. “It set the tone for who I would be performing.”

Musiel said that performing in “Power” was challenging for him because it was a different style than he was used to.

“It’s called the black aesthetic dance,” Musiel said. “There’s more emphasis on who you are as a dancer and you personify that… I had to use more of the emotional side of dance in addition to the technical side.”

Musiel said there were a few mess-ups with this performance.

“There’s no perfect performance even though that’s what we strive for,” Musiel said.

Musiel said he began dancing “on a whim” his senior year of high school. He wanted to continue but then ran into financial problems.

It was only after he found a sponsor with a woman from his church that he was able to continue studying dance at Indiana University. He joined Kenyetta through a friend who was involved with the group.

Taylor Blue, a Charleston resident, said the show was very dynamic.

“I heard about the show, it sounded amazing because it was just dancing, and I love dancing,” Blue said. “I haven’t been to a dance show in a long time… It made me want to move my body which is a wonderful thing, because the more you move your body the more happily you are living.”

Seth Schroeder can be reached at 581-2812 or scschroeder2@eiu.edu.

The Kenyetta Dance Company opened their performance in the Doudna Fine Arts Center’s Theater with the dance “Nine”, which was a company premiere Saturday. (Danny Damiani

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