The Capstone as a Stepping Stone: Preparing Dance Majors for Life Post-Graduation

Each February, the Senior Solo Showcase exemplifies four years of hard work and seeks to embolden graduating dance majors in their final semester Sarah Cullen Fuller, Lecturer of Dance, serves as the Artistic Director of the showcase and a valuable mentor to the students.   

The Senior Solo Showcase began as a celebration of the graduating class and has evolved into a performance capstone course that synthesizes coursework and supports professional development. Each senior independently commissions a professional choreographer to create an original solo to present alongside a group piece choreographed by Fuller. During the process, students learn to market themselves and their experiences to gain employment by building outward-facing portfolios supplemented by professional photography and videography of their performances in Mundelein Center’s Palm Court.   

^{Sarah Cullen Fuller, Class of 2024 Dance majors, and Cayla Skuran (Senior Solo Showcase Artistic Associate) gathered in Palm Court, photo by Duncan Corbin}  

For Fuller, utilizing Palm Court is one of the most essential aspects of the course and was deliberately chosen to support maximum engagement between the audience and dancers. She acknowledges former Loyola President Father Garanzini’s vision in building Palm Court, noting, “he saw the Palm Court as a place for the arts to live.” Fuller believes the venue “fuels the dancers’ understanding of not only performance but embodying your entire person.” Alumni Annie Leduc (‘23) recounts the unique performance experience, stating, “Dancing in Palm Court, you're wrapped in sunlight from every angle, and your closeness to the audience becomes very intimate without a stage and house dividing one another.” The space provides a warmth and closeness indicative of the supportive Loyola Dance community, while its expansive windows overlooking Lake Michigan simultaneously beckon the artists toward a future of vast possibilities.

 ^{Annie Leduc dancing in Palm Court, photography by Emma Petersen} 

Sandra Kaufmann, Director of Dance, praises Fuller’s work in developing the course into “the perfect culmination of our performance-based pedagogy.” The foundational curriculum equips dancers with an array of tools, and the capstone course provides the opportunity to see what they can build. Class of 2024 dance major Caroline Cady shares, “The course has demonstrated to me the ways I’ve grown over the last four years. It’s highlighted the artistic voice I’ve developed as well as the incredible community I’ve had the chance to dance alongside.” Similarly, Emily Heier (BA Dance ‘23) was able to synthesize her undergraduate experience to create a performance that was authentic to her artistry and “not only an accumulation of my time at Loyola but something that I was proud to end my undergraduate career with.”   

Fuller draws upon her professional career as a performer and choreographer in Chicago and beyond to partner with students as they investigate their artistic voice. Integral to the course’s success is Loyola’s Ignatian pedagogy, which prioritizes reflection through action, experience, and evaluation. Fuller emphasizes, “There is nothing more fulfilling than really watching this deep inquiry happen” and praises the Class of 2024 for their dedication and compassion throughout the past four years.