Rielly Pulliam
Staff Writer
“How do you get to Carnegie Hall?” Jack Benny, a multi-talented entertainer in the 20thcentury, once answered this question with “Practice, practice, practice.”
Montage Theater of Dance is a multidisciplinary dance company at Hinds Community College and is led by professional dance coach, Tiffany Jefferson.
Incorporating all genres of dance such as hip-hop, jazz, tap, ballet, African, etc., the company uses all of these genres to create productions that any age would love to see. Montage consists of dancers who attend Hinds Community College, students from Jackson State University and other universities that are dual enrolled, as well as dual enrolled high schoolers.
The dance company was recently invited to New York City to celebrate ‘A Day of International Dance’ by performing at the famous Carnegie Hall located in Manhattan.
Following the notification to perform, the dancers were thrilled yet curious on how they could get to the Big Apple with college students funds.
Jefferson explained to the dancers, “Life is only going to give you what you’ve earned. It doesn’t give you what you need.”
The collegiate dancers soon began to fundraise for their trip by selling tickets, setting up carwashes, and more for the productions that the dance company showcased at Hinds.
Eventually, the students raised enough money to buy their plane tickets and cover the different activities they were going to participate in while exploring New York City from January 16 –20.
Jefferson elaborated on what she wants her dancers and students to learn during opportunities as such.
“The overall lesson I try to instill in my students is to recreate, duplicate yourself. Another aspect of it is [I] am trying to breed the next generation of leaders, so they can lead their own companies and their own programs and get them out of the following stage,” said Jefferson.
She continued, “[I] also trying to instill in them how to live. That’s a huge part of what I do, so therefore, we are getting out of the aspect of just existing and being told what to do. Don’t ruffle the waters too much. Ruffle the waters a little bit just don’t break the law. Challenge yourself, challenge the world. It always starts out as a dream and you just go from there.”
Jefferson made sure her dancers researched the significance of Carnegie Hall and the different locations they would like to explore while they were in New York City.
After months of rehearsing for Carnegie Hall and making sure all of their expenses were taking care of, the big day for departure had arrived!
Jaylen Taylor, a senior journalism and media studies major from Canton, Miss. stated, “The biggest thing gained from the trip is just a more positive experience within life. Alvin Ailey is the school that I dream to attend once I graduate from Jackson State. Performing at Carnegie Hall is an experience that I will always remember because only the best get to perform on that stage.”
Leaving Mississippi on Thursday Jan. 16 around dawn, the dancers not only performed at the great Carnegie Hall, they attended dance classes at Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater and Broadway Dance Center, and visited the Metropolitan Museum of Art.
In the end, Jefferson was awarded at Carnegie Hall with the Del Kieffner Award, an award that recognizes a director who goes above and beyond in their mentoring of young students in the performing arts.
The dance company arrived back to Mississippi after the four-day extravaganza with a lot more than just a smile and a memorable experience in New York. They came back more inspired than ever before with one mission in mind, to dance again at Carnegie Hall.
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