For those who aspire to join the swaying nature of rhythmic art forms, no creative outlet may offer greater freedom of expression than dance.

The Southern Illinois Dance Company, led for the last 27 years by faculty adviser Donna Wilson, held auditions Jan. 21 to integrate new dancers into their setting. This semester, the group brought in six new dancers to make the group total almost 40 members.

Wilson said when the company looks for new dancers, members look for those who have an advanced skill level to integrate new dancers into the production. The company holds 12 rehearsals which run an hour and a half every semester. When the rehearsals culminate into a concert during the fourteenth week, experience helps, she said.

“I know a lot of the studios around go to competitions, but what I see on TV, I think it turns it into more of a circus-type thing, as opposed to art as expression,” she said.

Wilson said this circus portrayal is a struggle she deals with as a teacher. Dance is seen from a judging standpoint on screen, in which tricks are tallied by compressed multitudes in minutes. Dance often lacks a true joy, free expression and beauty that can come in dancing, she said.

“Since (we’re) trying to teach dance as an art form and a form of expression, our concerts aren’t very much dance exposition, ” Wilson said.

Sheranita Davis, a junior from Country Club Hills studying political science, said the Southern Illinois Dance Company will incorporate point pieces, acts in which ballet dancers perform on their toes.

“We do hip-hop, modern, jazz, lyrical, contemporary. We do it all,” Davis said

Nicole Mellecker, a sophomore from Yorkville studying Hospitality and Tourism, and the company’s choreographer, said when dancers prepare for auditions, it is important to keep in mind that it is not about what one can do through dance, but how one chooses to do it.

“With any type of audition, there’s going to be a lot of pressure there,” she said. “Stay focused on yourself and knowing what you can do and then just put it all on the table for everyone else to see.”

While others may find sincerity in another art form, Wilson said the ability to become skilled at dance depends on the individual, as some find it more naturally than others. There are ways to achieve greatness, only by practical application is there a way to become certain, she said.

“There’s a lot of factors that go into it,” Wilson said. “So dance and study, take as much class and get as good as you can be.”

Jake Saunders can be reached at [email protected], on Twitter @saundersfj, or 536-3311 ext. 254.