Antonella Lalinde, senior theatre major, came to NSU as a freshman for its theatre program. After performing in several productions, she encourages anyone to get involved in the Department of Communication, Media, and the Arts.
“To all of the incoming theatre majors and incoming art majors, music majors, there’s a great community here at Nova. You’ll meet a lot of great people, you’ll make a lot of great friends and make a lot of connections to your professors. It’s a joy to be a part of the DCMA,” Lalinde said.
DCMA’s arts programs include Art + Design, Dance, Music and Theatre. They are all open for incoming and returning students to participate.
Art + Design
The art and design community at NSU offers opportunities for students to take courses and increase their techniques. The program features two concentrations, one in graphic design and the other in studio art.
“I loved printmaking, drawing and painting class. I learned a lot of things that I’ll be using in the future when making more art,” said Darling Alicia Picado, senior art and design major and graphic design assistant of The Current last semester.
Alexa Frank, sophomore undecided major, learned several useful skills while taking the Introduction to Drawing course.
“Introduction to Drawing has been my favorite class I have taken regarding art at the university. I enjoyed this class as it allowed me to use tools I have never worked with in the past, but also new ways to use the supplies I use now,” Frank said. “The class pushed me out of my comfort zone with drawing and allowed me to focus on my weak points, such as texture or depth, while producing high quality and realistic art.”
The art community at NSU also offers various ways for students to showcase their art work at exhibits in the Don Taft University Center, Gallery 217, such as the Juried Student Exhibition and the Senior Exhibition. They showcase paintings, sculptures, graphic design and photography. The program also hosts exciting workshops, speakers and guest artist exhibitions.
Dance
Olivia Knerr, freshman dance and sports and exercise science major, said taking several dance classes at NSU has helped her become a better dancer.
“I definitely think that any of the technique classes that I have taken here at NSU, including ballet and jazz, have greatly improved my dance skills. I have only had the chance to take two dance classes this past year, but I also believe that my opportunity to perform in DanceWorks and the Student Choreography Showcase helped me become a better dancer,” Knerr said. “These shows pushed me to learn several dances over a period of time and to perform them in front of peers, families and the overall NSU community.”
The dance program at NSU offers ballet, jazz, contemporary and modern, allowing students to enhance their skills by working together to choreograph and dance to several styles and pieces throughout the year. Thanks to the opportunities the students have received to perform and showcase their learned pieces, new possibilities are created for their future.
Knerr enjoyed performing with other dance majors and minors at the American College Dance Association conference in March.
“My favorite piece that I had the opportunity to be in was Ysa’s ACDA piece. The piece was called ‘Misconception,’ and it was about an average young girl that discovers the negative mental effects that come with growing up and going through life. I played the young girl and everyone else played the negative mental effects like depression, anxiety and stress,” Knerr said. “This piece was very intense and put me into a character’s shoes that I was not used to playing. I had so much fun learning new things about myself during the creation of the piece, and I had even more fun performing it on stage.”
Madison Cantor, sophomore dance major, shared her outlook on being a part of the dance community.
“Some advice I would give a dance major or minor coming to NSU, is to be so creative and authentically yourself and don’t be afraid of thinking outside the box and trying something new,” Cantor said. “Our dance program is a very tight-knit family that’s all about supporting one another and pushing each other to be better dancers, choreographers and aspiring artists.”
The dance program at NSU offers a range of classes and the ability for students to express themselves while getting experience working in the shows.
“The dance program here at NSU offers several performance opportunities throughout the semester. As a freshman in Shark Talent, I gained the opportunity to perform upward to 10 performances just this past year,” Kneer said. “The professors are also so interested in making each person better, no matter where they are starting from. The connections for young dancers are amazing and the opportunity is endless, as long as you work hard yourself.”
Music
The music program at NSU prepares students to work in the music industry as musicians, producers, music teachers and more. Students can take courses such as piano, guitar and voice, in addition to courses in commercial music production. Private lessons are also offered in various instruments and voice.
Students receive the opportunity to perform in various shows each year, including The Peace Concert, Singer/Songwriter Showcase and the Golden Hour.
Additional singing performance opportunities are offered through Shark Gold, a student-led organization that sings for donors, fundraisers and events.
At the 2023 STUEYs, Molly Sullivan, student manager of Shark Gold, and junior health and wellness coaching major, sang “At Last,” her grandma’s favorite song.
“After I knew that it was my grandma’s favorite song, it kind of gave me the reassurance and the love that I needed to put into the story,” Sullivan said.
Shark Gold’s performance of “Somebody to Love” at the STUEYs was the first time the group sang in front of other students, friends and family.
Brandon Ysibido, second-year engineering major and Shark Gold performer, was happy to hear the positive reception from the audience.
“Listening back to recordings from the STUEYs and hearing the audience lose their mind when Razor steps out onto the stage and dances with us, or when somebody hits a high note and everyone just applauds, it’s ecstasy,” Ysibido said.
For Shark Gold, singers practice by repeatedly listening to songs and recording themselves, which Sullivan said helps them tell the story.
“That is a singer’s job in my opinion, is to tell a story, connect with the audience and make them feel something. Entertain them,” Sullivan said. “Listen to [a song] different ways each time, focusing in on a different part of the story, whether it’s the instruments, the words, a specific lyric or a specific verse.”
For those interested in auditioning for Shark Gold, Ysibido encourages students to look for flyers and reach out to people in DCMA.
“I know I’ve grown so much in the past year. I can do things and hit notes now that I never thought I could before, and I’m much more confident in my singing and in myself in general. And I owe a lot of that to Shark Gold, so we’d love to have you,” Ysibido said.
Theatre
Students in NSU’s theatre program learn about acting, musical theatre, technical theatre design and more by participating in several productions led by DCMA, including main stage productions like “The Tempest” and “The Mousetrap.”
Students can also learn by taking several classes in the theatre program, including Acting I, Comedy and Improvisation, Sound Design, Singing Technique and more.
NSU’s theatre program is partnered with the Rose and Alfred Miniaci Performing Arts Center on the Davie campus, which is managed by the Broward Center for the Performing Arts. The Rose and Alfred Miniaci Performing Arts Center hosts various theater productions that students can attend.
Other productions at NSU, like “Zombie Prom” and “The Dolls of New Albion,” are held in the Black Box Theatre in the Don Taft University Center.
In April 2022, Lalinde played the narrator in “The Dolls of New Albion,” while Spencer Carlisle, senior theatre major, played Edgar. Both Lalinde and Carlisle consider this one of their favorite productions they’ve done at NSU.
“That show was incredible. The show was no dialogue, only singing. It was an incredible feat and everyone involved was so nice and so talented and it was just such a great experience,” Carlisle said.
One part of NSU’s theatre program is Stage 2 Productions, a student-driven production company that works on “Mayfly: A 24hr Theatre Project” and improv sessions.
“If you’ve seen any of the Improv Jam shows, I co-ran that with Nina Poulos for the last two shows. And it was a fully run student improv show, and it’s been a time doing it. And one thing I’m definitely going to miss is being a part of it when I graduate,” Carlisle said.
Carlisle adds that NSU’s theatre program has a great support system and encourages anyone who is interested to come to auditions when they open.
“If you want to just audition at NSU, anyone’s allowed to audition. It’s not reserved just for the theatre students or for Shark Talent students. So if you want to go ahead and try it, then what’s stopping you?” Carlisle said.
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