Jessica Murphy (center, standing) surrounded by other Sweet Briar students. Photo by Andrew Wilds.

Two students from Virginia will share the spotlight during Sweet Briar College’s Senior Dance Concert, “Blurs,” at 8 p.m. Friday, Feb. 22, and Saturday, Feb. 23, in the Upper Dance Studio in Babcock Fine Arts Center.

In their culminating performances as dance majors, Lynchburg native Jessica Murphy and Sarah Fletcher, from Virginia Beach, will be joined by 14 other Sweet Briar students. Each senior has choreographed a solo, a small group piece and a large ensemble dance.

Murphy, who also majors in liberal studies, says all the choreographies were inspired by their own experiences. As indicated by the concert’s title, the pieces are an artistic interpretation of real life in which “the lines between reality and fantasy have been blurred,” she added.

“My solo is all about the next transition in my life from learning to doing,” Murphy said. Her small group piece, ‘Dark Whispers,’ deals with the destruction caused by rumors, which are represented by a scarlet-red scarf.

Jessica Murphy. Photo by Andrew Wilds.

Her large group piece unites all of the various threads from her life in a “dance autobiography” and includes the entire cast.

“[It] is all about my past, present, and future and how each of these … have made me who I am,” she explained.

Murphy will also show a video of a dance she performed during her sophomore year, in which she presented the theme of “relinquishing childhood” along with a young Lynchburg dancer whom she used to babysit.

Murphy herself has been dancing since she was 4 years old, starting out at Forest Dance Academy, where she took classes in ballet, tap, jazz, lyrical, modern, pointe, hip hop, musical theater and acrobatics.

“Growing up I had a lot of people tell me dance was not one of those realistic dreams to have, and so of course that made me want to pursue it even more to prove them wrong,” she said.

But along with it, she’s following another interest.

“I always knew I wanted to dance, but it was not until recently that I discovered my passion for teaching,” she said. “I see how much of an impact teachers can have on their students. Just having that one teacher tell a student her dreams are possible can make all the difference, so I decided I did not just need to pursue my own dreams but I needed to go back and help others to do the same.”

In the past four years, Murphy has had plenty of opportunity to try her hand at teaching. In addition to working as a Zumba instructor at the Jamerson YMCA in Lynchburg and at Sweet Briar, Murphy teaches children’s dance classes in the College’s after-school dance program and at Central Virginia Ballet, a studio owned by Sweet Briar ballet instructor Mari Mori. She also assists with the choreography for local talent show dances and school plays. Currently, Murphy is helping Amherst Middle School with the waltz scene in their production of “Cinderella.”

Sarah Fletcher. Photo by Andrew Wilds.

“All of these experiences have confirmed my love for teaching, and I cannot wait to settle down and pursue it,” she said.

But before she can ‘talk the talk,’ Murphy say’s she’ll have to ‘walk the walk.’

“I need to accomplish my dreams of dancing first so that I can prove to my students that it’s possible just like [Sweet Briar dance professors] Mark and Ella Magruder have shown me.”

After completing her M.A.T. at Sweet Briar in 2014, Murphy plans to pursue an M.F.A. in dance performance or choreography.

“My goal is to dance [and] choreograph professionally for a while and then teach dance at the college level,” she explained.

While at Sweet Briar, Murphy has caught several glimpses of what life as a professional dancer might be like. She choreographed and performed a solo piece at the Mid Atlantic Region’s American College Dance Festival when she was a sophomore and traveled with the Magruders to Taipei, Taiwan, for two weeks last summer to attend the 2012 Child international (daCi) Conference, where Murphy met dance educators and students from all over the world. Along with Fletcher, she also stayed in Italy for a month, where the two dance majors studied modern dance with members from Jose Limon’s company.

Fletcher, who is graduating with a Bachelor of Fine Arts in dance and studio art, has experience in all forms of dance, as well, including ballet, modern, tap, jazz and lyrical. A cheerleader throughout high school, she has trained and performed with various companies, such as Wallace Dance Company and Denise Wall’s Dance Energy, since she was 3.

Unlike Murphy, Fletcher is keeping most of her dances a secret, but revealed that her large group piece would be a mixture of modern and ballet, with some dancers on pointe.

Its theme is “overcoming bullies,” she explained. Her smaller group piece will be a surprise. “But I can say that it will be a fun and upbeat dance to watch.”

While the concert is just weeks away, Murphy and Fletcher aren’t quite finished with all of the choreography yet.

“We are in the midst of preparing an opener and finale,” Murphy said. “We are thinking the opener will be very “Chorus Line”-inspired and the finale something more Broadway-esque.”

They will also perform a duet that was choreographed for them two years ago by Samantha Angus ’05, the first Sweet Briar dance major to graduate with a B.F.A.

Admission is free and seating is open. Shoes must be removed before entering the studio. For more information, contact Mark Magruder at (434) 381-6150 or mmagruder@sbc.edu.

— Janika Carey

And sometimes, that ‘real world’ is in fact another classroom. For the past few weeks, rising seniors Alyssa Berkeley and Jessica Murphy have been interning at Lynchburg’s Gifted Opportunities Center at R.S. Payne Elementary School. Berkeley teaches mostly science to fourth-graders; Murphy teaches social studies to one of two fifth-grade classes.

With its creative curriculum, the G.O. Center turned out to be a perfect fit for Murphy, who double-majors in dance and liberal studies:

“An unexpected surprise when I first began teaching was to find that they were working on their spring musical,” she said. “When I informed my mentor teacher of my dance background, she allowed me to choreograph several of the numbers.”

Clearly, Murphy has had a blast utilizing her talent.

“The students are so full of suggestions and enthusiasm. I cannot wait to see the whole finished project in a few weeks!”

Berkeley’s experience has been just as positive:

“The best part of this internship by far has been having my students tell me that learning science with me is the best part of their day,” she said. “It has inspired me to want to learn more and become a better science teacher for them.”

At Sweet Briar, Berkeley majors in elementary and special education. The internship allows her to put many of her educational theories to the test, and to interact with her students in ways she didn’t anticipate before.

“I love looking up little facts for them and being able to answer their complicated questions,” she said. “They light up every time we work on their animal projects, and it’s oh so much fun to experience them having ‘a-ha!’ moments.”

In just a few weeks, Berkeley has grown attached to them.

“I’ve come to know these kids better than I’ve known most of the classes I’ve worked with since I came to Sweet Briar, and they are a wonderful and diverse group of children and have taught me more than I could ever have imagined in the past three weeks.”

With only a few days left before summer break, their internships are almost over, but both students say they would like to come back next year.

“This has really stretched my boundaries as a teacher and has been a very educating and fun experience,” Berkeley said. “If I wasn’t in love with teaching already, this would have made me be!”

Murphy agrees:

“I would love to come back and do my actual student-teaching here. In these short few weeks I’ve already learned so much about what being a teacher is really all about. They are the world’s best multi-taskers for sure! I have developed the utmost respect for my host teacher and her colleagues, and I can’t believe my time with them has come to an end so soon. Hopefully I can work with them again in the future.”

Contact: Janika Carey

Kelly Mosher says she developed a passion for teaching during high school when she volunteered at a local children’s museum and coached a youth cheerleading squad. Now a senior liberal studies major with a concentration in English and creative writing, she plans to earn her Master of Arts in Teaching from Sweet Briar in 2013. She also is working on her certification in special education.

As a liberal studies major, she is required to complete a summer internship and she knew she wanted to do hers abroad. Mosher spent the summer teaching at a school in Fiji with Projects Abroad, which helped with all of her arrangements. She recently talked with Sweet Briar’s career services about the experience.

Career services: Why did you pursue this internship?

Kelly Mosher: After looking at various countries and programs, my heart was set on going to Fiji. I chose Fiji because not only are the location and culture fascinating, but it is a place where not many Sweet Briar women had been to study. I wanted to experience something out of the ordinary.

CS: What have you gained from the internship?

KM: From my internship in Fiji, I learned a lot about myself. I learned how to be more confident and pushed myself to try new things. I also learned what I needed to improve on in the classroom. I faced a lot of challenges in a class of 30-plus students, but figuring out how to do it on my own and working with the students made the challenge rewarding.

Experiencing another culture firsthand also made me more appreciative of the things that I have and taught me to be more accepting and respectful of the various people and cultures of the world.

CS: Do you believe the skills and experience you have obtained from this internship will help you to further your career goals?

KM: The skills that I gained from my experience in Fiji are something I will keep forever and have already helped shaped my career goals. I know what I need to work on to be a better teacher but I also know what I am a successful at. I also know that traveling and teaching students in underdeveloped countries is something I would like to pursue.

— Interview by Tandilyn Phillips