Symone Sanz is a senior studying dance in the College of Fine and Applied Arts (FAA). She spent the Spring semester of her junior year studying and performing in the Western Australia Academy of Performing Arts (WAAPA) at Edith Cowan University in Perth, Australia.
Edith Cowan University, one of only two Australian universities that offer a dance program comparable to the University of Illinois’ program, serves as a rich hub of artistic talent and creative resources. Symone’s program was full of exhilarating opportunities to grow as a performing artist, the most memorable of which was getting to participate in the choreography process for a piece called “Liminal” with visiting artist Lauren Langlois from Melbourne.
In the College of FAA at Illinois, dance students must complete a senior thesis that consists of a written essay and either a symposium presentation or a concert dance. Symone began her choreographic process during her time abroad.
"I spent my semester abroad in Perth, which is on the southwest coast of Australia. I grew up in Los Angeles on the southwest coast of the United States and spent a lot of time as a child around water. Being in that environment was quite inspirational to me. I had vague ideas about wanting to create a piece revolving around bodies of water and theirr parallels to the human body, but my concrerte ideas formed and came to life during my time in Perth. I directed a video that serves as the first of three parts that make up my senior thesis in collaboration with composers and videographers who also attended the Western Australia Academy of Performing Arts. We visited several national parks around Western Australia to film the video, so that was a great way to explore areas outside of Perth. I grew more confident in myself as an artist when creating thihs piece. It embodies a part of who I've always been, and a part of myself that I grew into throughout this experience."