Cool Cat: Mason Low

Interview by Gabby Kutch | Photos by Brooklyn Swager, Caron Van Orman & Asia Turner

You feel the sweat dripping down your face, heart pounding as the bright fluorescent lights shine down on you. You can feel your muscles ache and you want to stop and take a breath but you know you’re almost done, you have to push through. With one final leap you land perfectly on solid ground and hear as the audience cheers. Overjoyed, you take a bow next to your peers, staring straight down at the ballet slippers on your feet.

Dance can be a demanding art form, but it can be enjoyed by those outside its department. Mason Low is a senior at CWU studying to earn her psychology major and nutrition minor, but she has been a member of the Orchesis Dance Company for two years. Not only that, she has also recently created a choreography piece for her peers and fellow dancers to perform.

Can you explain what the Orchesis Dance Company is?

It's an organization on campus mostly for the dance majors and minors, but anyone can join. I'm not a major or minor in dance so anyone can join. It's directed by Therese Young and Gabrielle McNeillie. And there's a lot of student choreographers and we kind of learn pieces throughout the fall and winter and then perform in our spring show every spring usually in April.

How long have you been dancing?

In total? Nine years.

What made you start dancing?

I’ve always wanted to dance. When I was younger, I used to put on little slip dresses and force my family to watch my performances in the living room. But I just never got around to starting dance until I was like 12.

What was it like to choreograph a dance for Orchesis?

It was really fun. It was stressful and different, and I'm really glad I did it. I've never choreographed for older dancers like my peers. I’ve only choreographed for like five-year-olds when I've taught their class, so it was a totally different experience. But I feel like it made me into a better dancer, and then it kind of opened up a whole other avenue of dance that I never really explored. 

What is your process for creating choreography?

Usually, I start with the song, I find a song that I really like. For me, it was November by Max Richter. But I find a song that I really like, and then I usually kind of improv. So I just kind of like, go into the studio or just in my room and just move like how my body naturally moves to the music and I usually record it, too. So I can look back because I'm not going to remember it in ten minutes. Just so I can look back and see what feels natural for me to move according to the music. And then from there I kind of workshop what I created.

What do you like about Orchesis?

I love how it pushes you artistically not just physically compared to like when I was younger. In training, you were always pushed physically, but never artistically much. So it was a lot different. Not that we're not being pushed here physically, but it's just kind of like there's a bigger emphasis on our artistic direction and how we interpret movement. I just love how close everyone is, everyone is just so supportive and loves each other.

What genres of dance have you performed?

I've performed in a lot of genres. I’ve done contemporary jazz and hip hop. I did mostly ballet growing up so I've done a lot of ballet performances. The one I choreographed was contemporary.

Can you describe what contemporary dance is?

Contemporary is very hard to describe. I like to describe it as a funky way to move. But if we want to get more technical, it's kind of a combination of ballet technique and modern technique. So like Horton or Martha Graham techniques kind of smushed together.

What genre of dance is your favorite?

It's kind of split between contemporary and ballet. Honestly, it's a 50/50, I love ballet because that's my one true love. I just, it makes you feel like a princess even though you're dying and I just love how structured it is. But I also love contemporary because it's a lot more freedom, I guess, artistically and just movement-wise. Like you get to, like, roll around on the floor and like throw yourself and do some cool tricks sometimes. So I'd say it’s a split between those two.

Do you have any future plans for your dance career?

If the opportunity presents itself to me, then yes, but if not, then I will just focus on my psychology career… Before I came to college, I was actually going for a career in dance and ballet specifically. But due to just a lot of things, I decided to take a year and a half off [from dance], and then when I came to Central… I found Orchesis and I kinda found my love for dance again. So, as of right now, I probably won't pursue a career in dance.