To rise, come forth or come out into view—a definition for emerging that appropriately titles a local group of artists who are finding the rest of their title—dance theater—a little too limiting.

The artists are involved in Emergence Dance Theater, a company which “can create any sort of theatrical effect,” artistic director Sandra Schramel said. She and executive director John Schmitz incorporated the dance theater group in 1984 and they are finding the group’s potentials go far beyond theater dance.

As professional dancers who performed with the Arve Connection Dance Company in Chicago, Schramel and Schmitz were labeled “crazy” for starting a dance theater in DeKalb.

“We lost our sanity four years ago,” Schmitz said. “When people found out we wanted a professional dance troupe in DeKalb, they thought we were crazy.”

But Schmitz said there is potential in this area. “Many of the students are young, but the artistic expression is there,” he added.

Schramel said an average of eight artists—ranging in age from 14 to 40—work with the company, but turnover from season to season is great because of the long hours involved with performing.

“We’re always interested in people participating with all sorts of talents,” Schramel said.

Emergence is primarily a performing company but Schramel said the company also teaches ballet, jazz and modern forms of dance “as a means of survival.” Schmitz and Schramel work with NIU faculty and students for many performances, but the company is not exclusive to NIU, she said.

An example of a non-dancing artist in the company is Norman Magden, an NIU intermedia arts professor, who created a video production, “And God Created the Whale,” for the environmentally-concerned Greenpeace organization.

The visuals he creates for Emergence’s productions are coordinated with musical and dance aspects to “all come together—I kind of consider it a triangle,” Schramel said.

Emergence features some NIU students including dance major Kim Neville and recent biology graduate Carolyn Casella.

Neville started taking dance last summer and wants to become a professional dancer. However, she says she is not interested in the bright lights of Broadway. “I prefer small, innovative dance companies like Emergence.”

Casella, on the other hand, is not what you’d call the typical dancer. Though she started taking dance lessons as a child and loves it, she has other aspirations. Casella will begin work on her Ph.D. in molecular biology this fall at the University of Wisconsin at Madison.

Yet, Casella has a strong commitment to dance. “It was hard sometimes, being a student and dancing too, but it was worth it.”

Emergence performed the opera “Carmina Burana” this past weekend for a “very good quality audience,” Schramel said. The opera “incorporated images of life, fate, love, spring, death and birth—cycles of powers and impulses,” she said.

Emergence is funded partially through the Northern Arts Council, private donations and dance lesson tuition.