EMU ballet A Midsummer Night’s Dream

School Buses filled with children and adults lined up alongside Pease Auditorium to see Shakespeare's, A Midsummer Night’s Dream, performed by the EMU Symphony Orchestra and Dance.

This performance featured a short description of the play told on stage followed by the orchestra and dancers performing each scene with original choreography.

The story followed the tale of four human lovers and the fairies that meddle in their lives with a universal theme of love and all it’s complications through three interlocking plots. The production featured mythical fairies, a celebrated marriage, a mischievous elf, and beautiful dance numbers.

Sam Caronongan and John Bargas played the two males lovers.

Caronongan, although not part of the EMU dance program, has had a history of ballroom dancing since he was a kid, but before being cast in this piece he knew very minimal ballet.

“I met a ton of the dancers when I first came and they were very welcoming. Everyone in the program is very talented and knowledgeable about what they do and the teachers here are amazing. So they asked if I was available at the end of the month to see if I could do this performance,” Caronongan said.

Bargas is a member of the EMU dance program with experience in all forms of dance.

“I’ve been dancing since I was five,” he said.

Shayla Whitfield, one of the fairies in the show, auditioned for the dance major program in 2015, her Freshman year, and got in. While she did perform in The Nutcracker before, playing three roles, this was her first time performing in, A Midsummer Night’s Dream.

“I've been dancing since i was the age of three” she said.

With experience in ballet, contemporary, tap, jazz, hip hop and pointe, she’s no stranger to performing.

When asked about her aspirations for the future she replied, “For dance I would like maybe to open my own dance studio. I could be on the performance track which is what I am, so I could be maybe a professional.”