About:
Formerly known as Choreography Project, RDC’s Choreographic Intensive is a six-day residency designed for high school dancers who are interested in an immersive, professional experience. Participants will work with RDC Season 4 Choreographer, Emily Duggins Ehling, to develop and perform an original work, gaining valuable insight into RESILIENCE's creative processes. Each day will feature a technique class followed by two rehearsal sessions, culminating in a performance at the third annual St. Louis Contemporary Dance Festival, hosted by RESILIENCE Dance Company. This program offers a powerful glimpse into the professional dance world, while empowering dancers to grow and excel in both artistry and performance.​​​
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Photo from "No Agenda" by Hélène Simoneau
Entry Points 2025 | Photo by Sam Fink of Lumosco
Interested in doing both Choreographic Intensive
and Pre-Professional Intensive?
If you're interested in participating in the Choreographic and Pre-Professional Intensive, you only need to submit one audition video. During registration, you can select the programs you're interested in auditioning for—simply choose both if you'd like to apply for both.
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Participants accepted into both programs who choose to enroll in both will receive a 20% discount on the combined tuition.
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Click the button below to learn more about our Pre-Professional Intensive.
Auditions and Registration Process
All students interested in participating in the Choreographic Intensive must complete an audition and application. There are two options to audition for RESILIENCE Dance Company's Choreographic Intensive:
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1. Submit a Virtual Audition
Guidelines for our virtual audition are below:
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Please submit the following in one edited video by May 1st:
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Learn and perform two combinations taught by RDC. These combinations incorporate modern, contemporary, ballet and floorwork techniques and have options for modifications. Click the links below to view and learn the combos, then record yourself performing them as part of your audition video. Music links are included below.
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- Music: Go Solo by Tom Rosenthal. The phrase begins at 1:28 in the music.
Combo 2: Contemporary Floorwork
- Music: Nostos by Jean-Michel Blais and devon bate. The phrase begins at 1:17 in the music.
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1 - 2min of choreography or improvisational work. This can include performance or rehearsal clips of completed or in-progress choreography, solo or group context improvisation, or the dancer's own choreography. Show us your artistry, creativity, and performance presence.
Videos DO NOT need to be professional quality. Feel free to take quick videos on your phone. RDC is interested in dancers who work with functional technique, who have experience in ballet, modern, contemporary, and floorwork at the intermediate/advanced level, and who are strengthening their artistry and performance quality. We recommend choosing a space with ample room so you can fully demonstrate your abilities and strengths.​​​
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2. Attend the Regional Summer Intensive Audition (RSIA) hosted by COCA January 16th - 18th.
This is an excellent choice for those interested in taking sample classes from a wide variety of dance companies, honing their in-person audition skills, networking, or looking at participating in multiple summer dance programs. There is a $116 participation fee. More info here. Dancers should attend during their age group's time.
Click the button above to complete the application and virtual audition. If you are electing to audition in-person, complete the same application and select "in-person" audition on the form. Please specify whether you plan to attend the in-person RDC audition or the in-person COCA audition. You can expect to hear back from RDC two weeks following your submission. If accepted, RDC will follow up with registration information.
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Email info@resiliencedancecompany.com with any questions!
Choreographic Intensive Choreographer
Emily Duggins Ehling
Emily Duggins Ehling (she/her) is the Assistant Teaching Professor of Stage Movement and Dance at the University of Missouri. As a dance teacher and choreographer, Emily primarily draws from Horton Technique, Release Technique, somatic practices, and improvisation to encourage grounded, expansive, curious dancing. She researches the intersection of dance processes and theatre processes, with a focus on creating and maintaining ethical, care-based rehearsal spaces. Her choreographic processes strive to prioritize the humans involved, seeking to build genuine care and empathy among the collaborators that might be felt by the audience.
Emily has independently produced five full-length contemporary dance premieres since 2019, most recently …and everything stays the same… She has choreographed original works for RESILIENCE Dance Company, the Saint Louis Dance Theatre trainees, Modern American Dance Company 2, Consuming Kinetics Dance Company, Southern Illinois University Edwardsville, and Washington University Dance Collective. Her choreography has been shown broadly at festivals across the country.
After dancing with Modern American Dance Company 2, The Slaughter Project, and Black Irish Contemporary Hip Hop Company, Emily was a founding company member with RESILIENCE Dance Company. She has served as the dramaturg for multiple new works by Emily Haussler.
