Date of Defense
12-2-2025
Date of Graduation
5-2026
Department
Dance
First Advisor
Michael Esperanza
Second Advisor
Carolyn Pavlik
Recommended Citation
Martinez, Adrian, "Between the Calm Lake Waters" (2025). Honors Theses. 4088.
https://scholarworks.wmich.edu/honors_theses/4088
Access Setting
Honors Thesis-Open Access
Comments
Between the Calm Lake Waters is my senior capstone choreographic project, paying homage to a place of importance and showing the personal growth that has come from leaving it. The title stems from an alma mater in my hometown and reflects the development that occurs when stepping away from environments that once felt so defining. The work questions how our sense of self shifts when the places that once shaped us can no longer hold on to who we are becoming. I was fortunate to grow up in a close-knit community, yet that very comfort sometimes created personal limitations. Leaving home revealed how much my environment had shaped my identity and how growth can emerge through change and discomfort.
In this project, I referenced a past dance film to develop the storyline of my personal experiences navigating isolation within familiarity. Developed on a cast of seven dancers, the piece explores the extent to which a person, place, or thing can impact you. Loneliness is often thought of as the absence of people, yet some of the most profound loneliness exists within relationships and environments that no longer nurture growth. My dancers portray the growth, the restraint, and the external factors of navigating these realities.
My goal for this piece was to combine improvisational movement exploration, the study of choreographers with similar artistic themes, journaling, and collaborative rehearsals guided by feedback from faculty mentors. I wanted much of the choreography to reflect my movement practices, blending fluid, musical, and grounded contemporary, modern, and jazz techniques. Through this process, the choreography unfolds organically, using both structured and loose choreographic approaches to shape the movement and story. The performance serves as a narrative open to audience interpretation, as well as a demonstration of my evolving leadership skills in rehearsal direction, creative decision-making, and arts administration practices.
As an emerging professional dancer, educator, and arts administrator, this project closely aligns with my future goals by integrating artistry with educational and organizational practices. This project allowed me to create a meaningful work rooted in personal narrative while developing teaching values centered on collaboration, vulnerability, and community-building, guiding principles I will carry into my future within the dance field.