Comps Insider: Thu Nguyen ’19
Thu Nguyen ’19, a double major (Enviromental Studies and Dance) from Osseo, Minn., tells us about her senior capstone experience, or ‘Comps,’ in support of her Dance degree.
What is your major?
I’m a Dance and ENTS (environmental studies) double major
What is the title of your Comps?
None yet — it’s a work in progress!
What is your Comps topic (describe)?
My comps is an exploration into the inability to fall asleep. I’m exploring various states of being and situations that result in trouble falling asleep.
Why did you choose your Comps topic?
I have weird sleep habits and a lot of the times I’m not sure why I’m still up at 4 a..m. in my bed, so last year I started listing down all the reasons I couldn’t fall asleep. I ended up with a pretty extensive list that covered a myriad of topics, so for me it only made sense that I continued my personal research and bring it into my Comps.
What was the most interesting article/or piece of information that you found while researching your Comps?
I had my dancers come up with individual phrases that capture their nighttime routines, and seeing the similarities and differences in everyone’s is so interesting! People have their own little things that help them get to bed and having that small glimpse into someone’s life brings more structure and continuity to my Comps.
What was/is your Comps process like?
I have a bunch of time scheduled in the dance studios to rehearse, and depending on my mood and where I want to go we’ll do some writing, improv, movement exercises, or I’ll come with choreography to teach, but there’s always a lot of talking involved. I like to talk to my dancers to bounce ideas off of them and include them in my process and get their feedback as well, because ultimately they’re performing it in front of an audience and I want everyone to be comfortable with how they’re presenting themselves.
Why do you think it was/is valuable for you to write a Comps?
My Comps isn’t written like most Comps, but I think the dance Comps is still extremely valuable. I am completely in charge of my Comps; I have my adviser that I can talk to and ask questions, but ultimately all the decision-making and planning falls onto me. Other than choreography, I’m in charge of casting, costuming, set design, lighting, recruiting board operators, publicity, and much more. The dance Comps is an introduction to the world of professional dance, and I believe it’s an invaluable Comps for those interested in continuing to dance after Carleton.
Will you expand on your Comps in any way?
Potentially. Right now I’m still in the middle of choreographing so there’s still a lot of directions for this to go. We’ll see where I end up and go from there!