From the lighting design to the dynamic choreography, stage manager Cat Hickerson believes “Contemporary Choreographers” is a show anyone, no matter their background, can enjoy.

“Each piece is very unique,” said Hickerson, a senior stage management major. “I think it’s a really good example of contemporary choreography… the best example is art on stage.”

“Contemporary Choreographers” brings together four choreographers’ works to the George Rowland White Performance Studio (GRW) Nov. 16-20. The show is put on by the Point Park Conservatory Dance Company and features COPA student dancers. The choreographers are not affiliated with the university.

Act 1 opens with “The View From Here” by David Norsworthy. The piece is all about perspective.

“How can I create a work that presents a challenge to my team in a way that honours the personalities and histories that they each carry?” Norsworthy said in a press release. “We’ll get started by following our curiosities and then see what emerges.”

Next in the program is “Pink Mist,” a piece inspired by the military, by James Gregg.

“Pink mist is a term used in the military which is when you shoot someone and blood splatters,” Hickerson said. “It’s about where you just have follow orders, and that’s what those dancers portray.”

Sasha Alvarez, a senior dance major with a modern dance concentration, is one of the dancers in “Pink Mist.” Her role in the piece is to try to free her fellow dancers.

“We’re just trying to break free from continuing the same process that we do,” Alvarez said. “I’m the one that does get out of the same thing over and over again. I lead the dancers into seeing new ways and new things.”

After the intermission, “Flight Distance” by Helen Simoneau will start the beginning of the second act.

“The work I create is inspired and informed by a fascination with the intricacies of relationships and the vast spectrum of human dynamics,” Simoneau said in a press release. “Through dance making, I explore ways of expressing and sharing the ways we, as individuals, interact and relate to the larger group.”

Lastly, “Chrysalis” by Stephanie Martinez will close out show. “Chrysalis” is about female empowerment across generations.

“There are three featured dancers,” Hickerson said. “One represents females of the past, and then females of the future, and then females of the present.”

Alvarez said the audition process was difficult. The dancers were given 45 minutes with each choreographer to learn parts of the pieces. They then began the first round of cuts, which only left approximately 80 dancers in the department.

“It was just a very long process and hard to remember so much choreography,” Alvarez said.

Hickerson and Alvarez both said the show was a collaborative process between the dancers, lighting aspects, choreographers and management.

“I’ve never worked with all the people in this piece before, so it was very exciting to help bring this process together with new people,” Alvarez said. “Everyone is just so creative and so talented.”

Alvarez also said the process of creating a show is her favorite aspect as a performer, too.

“The process of rehearsals, the long nights, the hours of soreness — it all leads up to this one moment,” Alvarez said.

“Contemporary Choreographers” runs Wednesday through Saturday. Performance times include Wed.-Sat. at 8 p.m. and Sat. and Sun. at 2 p.m. For more information and to purchase tickets, students can visit pittsburghplayhouse.com.