By AARON LOUX

What is the difference between collaboration and compromise? Is there one? In an effective and successful collaboration, compromise is inherent. This is one of the main themes in the Composers and Choreographers experience. The class, informally known as ChoreoComp by all involved, involves the creation of original works by six third-year dancers choreographing and six graduate-student composers writing music, working in pairs. The composers and choreographers team up after sharing their ideas with each other at the start of the course. The process of creating new music and dance to be put together simultaneously is where the collaboration and compromise come in.

At work in the studio, a group of dancers rehearse a piece by choreographer Shamel Pitts and composer Ricardo Romaneiro. (Photo by Jane Rubinsky)

ChoreoComp is one of several avenues contributing to the development of choreographic talent within the School. A number of the dancers who graduate from Juilliard have found recognition for their choreography. Two of them—Adam Hougland (B.F.A. '99) and Jessica Lang (B.F.A. '97)—will be featured on this year's upcoming New Dances/New Music concert of commissioned works in February (another ChoreoComp of sorts). Is ChoreoComp the necessary stamp for dancers to leave with, in order to become successful choreographers? Probably not, as many of the famous choreographer alumni graduated well before the installation of the program—but the learning that goes on for all involved is invaluable.

What does a choreographer learn in this process? "There's so much give and take," says Shamel Pitts, a third-year dancer who is creating a work this year. That's something new to most participating choreographers, including Shamel: "Normally, my ideas develop after listening to a piece of music," he says. As the new work evolves in a stop-and-start manner, chunk by chunk, compromises must be made. Though Shamel and his partnered composer, Ricardo Romaneiro, worked together on developing the initial idea, shifts in the choreographic concept were made once the initial drafts of music were created. "As soon as I heard the music, I knew I had to go down a new path, but towards the same destination," explains Shamel. This is where the collaborative process becomes exciting—somewhere between the two creators, ideas arise not from one or the other, but the decisions and agreements made between them.

Faculty member Pia Gilbert, who advises the composers in the class (just as dance faculty member Liz Keen does the choreographers), has had years of experience providing a space for this collaboration. "I learn something every time I teach it," she says. Every year resonates with completely different ideas, she says, with "the freshness of new people doing new work." This continual renewal arises from the endless possibilities created when two heads are put together. And working together this closely helps the choreographers and composers achieve, in Ms. Gilbert's words, a "recognition of each other and recognition of how close we are to each other." Between dance and music, she notes, the elements are "all translatable to the other art; we just use different terms and different instruments."

Juilliard Composers and Choreographers Peter Jay Sharp Theater Wednesday, Dec. 14, 1 p.m. Friday and Saturday, Dec. 16 and 17, 8 p.m. Free event; no tickets required.

As a dancer performing in one of the new works, I find the process of creation rewarding. Putting composers and choreographers together is taking advantage of a multidivisional school like Juilliard in the best possible way. (Upon my arrival here, I learned that there is an entire drawer in the Dance Division office full of music made by composers at Juilliard who are interested in having it choreographed—a piece of information that filled me with a sense of endless possibilities.) It is a responsibility of a school with three different divisions—each held in high esteem for the level of training and talent—to mix them together somehow. What better way to learn about your fellow performing artists than working with them and relating to them? Certainly, you go through the same stresses of deadlines and creative dry spells. Collaborating fosters an appreciation for the discipline that goes into each kind of work, and provides a window into the way someone else creates. Some develop their work in a slow progression, while others spin out the whole work in a short time, with many revisions to follow. The process of enlarging one's awareness is as important as the performance itself.

Now in its 15th year, the ChoreoComp presentation has become a highly anticipated annual event. This year, it moves from Alice Tully Hall to a new venue: the Peter Jay Sharp Theater. As usual, the hourlong program will be a highlight of the Wednesdays at One series—but this year, two more shows have been added on the following Friday and Saturday evenings, both expanded to include additional material developed by dance students in workshops throughout the first semester.

There is no common theme for the new works to be seen on the ChoreoComp program, aside from the fact that they are all created together and will feature live musicians. That in itself raises an interesting question: how is a dance created with the music different from a dance created for the music? Each pair will most likely provide a different answer.

Aaron Loux is a first-year dancer.