Agnes Allman produces independent student choreography show
Scarlet & Black 2025-04-21
In “Mixed Signals,” Agnes Allman `26.5 showcased four original dance pieces. The performance, which took place the evening of April 11, represented the culmination of two years of choreography work for Allman. Audience members packed the Wall Performance Lab to enjoy the entirely student-led and produced performance as the lights shifted from dim blue to warm yellow, and the dancers filled the stage with energetic movement.
Allman worked with four student dancers — Brianna Hinds `26, Jadyn Nkosi Al-Fatah `27, Jillian Poplau `27 and Lily Shoemaker `28. Andrew Lim `25 handled lights for the production. “I really like working with small numbers of dancers, because I get to know all of them really well,” said Allman. “I’m really good friends with every single one of them because I rehearsed with them for a while.”
The show consisted of four pieces. “Circa 1986,” which Allman choreographed in 2024, was set to “We’re Finally Landing” by HOME and performed by Hinds, Al-Fatah, Poplau and Shoemaker. “0.09,” choreographed in 2024 and 2025, was set to two songs — “Pale White Horse and “Where is Your Rider,” both by The Oh Hellos, and was performed solo by Poplau. Allman choreographed “a different summer,” set to “Cuckoo Song” by Cosmo Sheldrake, back in 2023, and had seen it performed before by different dancers in the past. This time, it was performed by Al-Fatah, Hinds, Poplau, Shoemaker and Allman herself. The final piece of the night, choreographed in 2025, was “Is your radio on?” which Hinds, Al-Fatah, Poplau and Shoemaker performed to “Who Laughs Last [feat. Kristen Steward]” by Lord Huron.
Allman, a theatre, dance, and performance studies major, transferred to Grinnell last year from Bard College at Simon’s Rock. “They had a really great student-led dance program where I was able to choreograph for a concert every semester, and that was just something that I missed coming here, because there really isn’t something that like that here,” Allman said, explaining their decision to produce a showcase of choreography.
Allman said that they initially got into choreography during their freshman year of college, although they had been dancing since they were four. Two of the pieces performed were past works that Allman was proud of, and two were new work choreographed with this showcase in mind.
Allman said that their choreography work leans heavily towards modern and contemporary dance styles, as those were the kinds of dance they grew up doing and most enjoy. Describing their choreography process, Allman said, “I really start from the music. So, I find a song that I really like, that I feel inspired to create something from, and I really just work with music. I am not a physical choreographer. I draw pictures. I have my ideas, and I record them on paper.”
The process of finding music for Allman comes intuitively from their music tastes and artists they admire. “I think every single [song] in this collection came to me organically,” said Allman.
The music itself suggests choreographic ideas to Allman, who also enjoys acting and other modes of performance. “I think, because I am also a theatre person, there’s always going to be some sort of interconnectedness between both [art forms.] For me, a lot of songs have stories attached to them that I just make up. And so a lot of that just comes through in the dance.”
I would encourage anyone who’s itching to do more, to just go and do more, and people are gonna support you, and it’s gonna be great.
— Agnes Allman `26.5
The showcase was entirely student-driven and motivated by Allman’s passion for choreography. “It was just me wanting to do some dance,” said Allman. “I don’t think I even got credits for it.”
Allman encouraged other students to pursue opportunities for staging their own work and said that the logistics of making the project happen were not prohibitive. “All the faculty who I worked with were very supportive.”
The resulting showcase rewarded Allman and their dancers’ hard work. “I think it’s just so much fun,” said Allman. “Because I’m always making stuff up, and it’s kind of rare that I get to see the full final thing, on stage with lights.”
“I would encourage anyone who’s itching to do more, to just go and do more, and people are gonna support you, and it’s gonna be great,” said Allman.