Founded by Isabella Delionado ’26 and Chidi Olewuenyi ’26, Synergy Dance Company is the latest addition to the expansive and thriving dance scene on campus. Only a year old, Synergy aims to be an inclusive community that bridges the gap between dancers and performance opportunities on campus. The club offers weekly technique classes and self-choreographed pieces in jazz, contemporary and ballet.
Synergy’s founders created the company in fall 2022 after auditioning for two other major contemporary dance groups at Brown. “Unfortunately, we both didn’t get in,” Olewuenyi said. “We also noticed there were a lot of good people there, but the groups only ended up taking about five people each.”
With only a few dance class options and limited time slots in the Department of Theater Arts and Performance Studies, Delionado and Olewuenyi said they saw a gap between the number of students who wanted to dance and the opportunities available for them at Brown.
Synergy allows students to audition for just only one or two of its styles, but also gives dancers the option to join any other genre “if they want to do a different style one day.”
The company held auditions in September and is now in the process of choreographing their spring show. Over the past month, the group held internal weekly technique sessions as well as auditions for specific dances in the spring show. Instead of assigning dancers to pieces like many other groups on campus, Synergy “allows students to audition for dances they’re interested in,” Delionado said.
To accommodate students’ schedules, the company also offers “active” and “inactive” memberships where students can choose their level of commitment based on semesterly work schedules.
“With active memberships, members audition for four pieces and are guaranteed at least two,” Delionado said. Inactive members “audition for two and are guaranteed one.”
Adelaide Poulson ’26, a current Synergy member, described the company as a close-knit and welcoming community. After taking a hiatus from dance during high school, Poulson managed to reconnect with the art through Synergy.
“Everyone wants to be there, and there’s no pressure,” Poulson said. Currently in a ballet piece choreographed by Delionado, Poulson is also “excited to try jazz and contemporary.”
The company, which currently includes 10 undergraduate, graduate and RISD dancers, will hold auditions in the spring and plans to increase its social media presence as a means of growing the group in the future.
“We are small and mighty … but still want more people to know about us so we can give actual space to dancers,” Olewuenyi added.
Moving forward, Synergy also aims to increase accessibility to dance on campus. Delionado and Olewuenyi plan to hold workshops open to all students in jazz and ballet throughout the semester.
“We want to provide opportunities for dancers and non-dancers to explore dance without stress,” Delionado said.
Karis Jia Ning Ma ’25, a member of Fusion Dance Company, is “excited about Synergy joining Brown’s dance scene” and the group’s efforts to make dance more widely available to students.
“Especially for students who have a busy schedule, it’s a great way to allow dancers to explore with flexible commitment based on individual schedules,” Ma said.
Synergy Dance Company is also planning potential collaborations with other dance groups on campus. While the company does not have a showcase this semester, Syngery has received an invitation from Attitude Dance Company to join the Movement Show in November.
Rebecca Weng is a Senior Staff Writer for Arts and Culture. She is a sophomore from Guangzhou, China studying English and CS-Econ.
