Every year, certain Point Park University dancers cast and choreograph pieces by themselves, and this year was no exception.

“[The Student Choreography Project] has happened every fall semester since I began school at Point Park in 2014,” Jennifer Romano, senior dance major and one of the choreographers, said. “I believe it existed long before that as well.”

This past weekend the Student Choreography Project (SCP) took place, featuring 38 pieces choreographed by 38 different choreographers, spread into four shows.

In each piece, choreographers are allowed to cast between two and eight dancers, with the number varying depending on what the choreographer envisions on stage. To cast these open spots in each piece, the choreographers divided themselves into three rooms and taught the auditionees different combinations. Those three rooms focused on either contemporary, jazz or improv work, with three to six choreographers per room.

The SCP is actually a series of performances from students enrolled in Composition III, a required class for Point Park BFA dance majors. Each student enrolled in this course is a choreographer of a piece and each student also chooses a mentor, a fellow dancer who has already completed the course, to help them through the process and to provide insight.

In order to audition to be part of the SCP, one must be at least a sophomore and majoring in dance.

Before the auditions started, dancers did a warm up and then proceeded to teach the routines.

During the audition, Robert Clores, a junior dance major with a concentration in modern, was looking for people who took the movements he set and made them look good for their own bodies.

“I also wanted to cast a diverse group of people who would complement each other rather than move similarly,” Clores said.

Chezney Douglas, sophomore dance major, was one of the many auditioners. This was her first-year auditioning for the SCP.

“The most important thing is to keep a calm, open mind,” Douglas said. “We want to show our individuality and character as we dance. Basically, bring the story or character to life.”

With all the different choreographers, there is a wide variety of numbers. Clores’ piece was about Japanese Internment Camps during World War II, entitled “Limited Civility.”

“Because the world was at war, it must’ve felt like civility was limited and far between,” Clores said.

Romano’s piece was entitled “Impetus.”

“Impetus is the force that makes something happen quickly,” Romano said. “In my piece there is a moment when my two dancers connect for the first time and the entire piece shifts.  My female dancer is acting as the impetus in that moment.”