Annette Ville found dance at the age of 4 through her grandmother, a professional dancer years ago in Germany.
Floridance’s Spring showcase is a fitting way for her to say goodbye to the stage. Ville, a UF biochemistry and molecular biology senior, is one of the seniors preparing for their last show.
Floridance, UF’s student-run dance company, is performing “Away We Go!” at 7:30 p.m. Saturday at the Phillips Center for the Performing Arts. Admission is free, and seating is on a first-come, first-served basis.
The audience will see the dancers of Paris, ballerinas of Spain and Bollywood performers of India.
Ville has a solo in the showcase, the annual student-choreographed dance performance.
“My grandma choreographed it, so I am excited and proud,” Ville, 21, said. “She will be there watching me perform, so there is some pressure.”
Ville, the company’s secretary, said Floridance was her core involvement at UF and helped her keep up with dancing. She said she’s going to miss the open classes and rehearsals every Tuesday night, when anyone could take classes in ballet, hip hop or salsa.
“I knew that I could go to Floridance to have a break from stress,” she said.
Ville joined the company four years ago as a freshman alongside President Lindsey Backman and Vice President Courtney Fee.
Backman, a UF biochemistry and molecular biology senior, began dancing when she was about 2 years old.
Backman, 21, also has a solo in the showcase, and it’s her last opportunity to perform with her close friends before leaving for graduate school.
“It’s a place to dance at UF where those who are passionate about dance can go to,” Backman said. “It is a home.”
Fee, a UF accounting and political science senior, isn’t doing a senior solo. She said the piece she choreographed for the winter show was her senior hurrah.
She said the company is made up of a genuine group of girls.
“It’s an inspiring group of people that help you improve and be the best you can be,” Fee, 22, said. “The girls are caring, sweet, and we look out for each other.”
Although this is Ville’s fourth year with Floridance, she said she still gets butterflies before a performance — but that’s what keeps her going.
“It’s so different when you’re in the moment,” she said. “You’re expressing your emotions and telling a story to the audience.”
The last showcase won’t be easy for these seniors, but it will be memorable.
“I am really sad,” Backman said, “but I am ending it dancing with friends.”
[A version of this story ran on page 8 on 4/10/2015 under the headline “Seniors say goodbye to Floridance”]
