By Leah Gorence ‘28 and Belen Yudess ’24
Staff Writer and Copy Editor
Tierney O’Keefe ’25 has once again sunk her teeth into an extraordinary display of dance in her “Spooky, Scary, Gay, Halloween Show.” The show hosted two performances in Pomona’s Rose Hills Theatre on Oct. 25 and Nov. 3 and featured four numbers choreographed by O’Keefe: “The Purge,” “There Once Was a Girl Named Jenny,” “Capgras Syndrome,” and “Cravings.” There was an additional piece, “Jeepers Creepers” choreographed and performed by Christian Lopez PO ’25.
O’Keefe’s show was not only a testament to her genius on the stage but also her talent for creating a vibrant and welcoming environment amongst her dancers that permeated throughout the audience.
When digging up the idea for her next project, O’Keefe originally found inspiration in her Catholic upbringing as well as her personal development over the past year.
“I had this idea for a piece called purgatory that comes from my Catholic roots and the liminal space between life and death,” they said. “In the spring, I was feeling like I was in purgatory all the time because of the nature of my health journey with long Covid and feeling kind of in the deep end with symptoms and I really turned to music and choreography [because I wasn’t sure I’d have the capacity to dance as I used to].”
O’Keefe continued: “When I came here in the fall, I originally had this piece in mind that was going to be complicated and complex and explore the psyche, and then I was like, fuck it, I want to do “Lunch” by Billie Eilish and [have] gay vampires.”
The opening number began with a chilling video announcement, declaring the beginning of “The Purge.” The dancers then emerged wearing LED Purge masks and performed, as O’Keefe described, “a fun, groovy hip hop,” kickstarting the evening on an equally spooky and spirited note. The dance concluded when one of the dancers emerged with a baseball bat, scattering the rest of the dancers into the crowd.
“There Once Was a Girl Named Jenny” perfectly encapsulated O’Keefe’s great talents as an artistic director. This piece, which initially served as O’Keefe’s senior thesis this past spring, balanced telling a harrowing story through beautiful, gentle movement that kept the audience on the edge of their seats. The piece ended with a chilling twist.
“Capgras Syndrome” leaned into a darker energy. “The name of the dance is Capgras Syndrome, which I learned about in my neuro class,” O’Keefe said. “Basically, you think everyone around you is an imposter because something happened in your brain where there was a disconnect between the facial recognition part of the brain and the limbic system.”
People with Capgras Syndrome believe that their loved ones have been replaced by an identical impostor. The dance incorporated those motifs of distrust and fear through fast, convulsive movements, with the two dancers clad in hospital gowns.
As a brief interlude between O’Keefe’s work, Lopez soloed an incredibly energetic and dynamic piece that combined intricate movement and moments of humor that caused an uproar throughout the theater. Set to a medley of songs, including Michael Jackson’s “Thriller”, Lopez’s piece was a testament to their skills as a dancer, highlighting their technical mastery of body control.
The finale was a fun, jazzy performance of “Lunch” by Billie Eilish, featuring, of course, the awaited gay vampires. A contrast to some of the spookier dances, “Lunch”, was unapologetically sexy and bold.
O’Keefe described her creative decision to make the roles gay. “I’m listening to the song and waiting for the spirit to move me,” they said. “And I’m like, oh, that makes sense. We’ll just do this. I was listening to “Lunch”, and I was like, this would be so fun to do at Scripps because it’s so gay.”
When asked about their creative process with this piece specifically, O’Keefe shared the concept for the dance and the song came to them simultaneously. “Sometimes my brain is just creating, creating, creating.”
Sitting amongst the audience, there was a pervading sense of belonging. Each time a new dancer came on stage, there would invariably be shouts of encouragement. There was so much love in the audience for O’Keefe and the dancers, stemming from the larger culture of Scripps dance that prioritizes inclusion, support, and pride.
“Working with all the dancers at this school is so epic and crazy,” O’Keefe said. “Everyone’s so fucking talented.”
O’Keefe has been an integral participant in the Scripps Dance program for the past four years and has had plenty of experience interacting with her peers as a fellow dancer and choreographer. Throughout their experiences, O’Keefe has formed lasting relationships with the community on a personal and professional level, which allowed them to fit each person to specific pieces.
“The more you work with a cast, the more you see how everyone’s body moves,” she said. “I love seeing people find more freedom in their bodies. Then sometimes they’ll do something and I’ll be like, oh, I really like that, we’re going to do that. It’s a combination of me creating and seeing what their movement style is.”
As part of her effort to prioritize the well-being and joy of their dancers, O’Keefe strives to create an environment that values effort over perfection.
“I don’t believe in pushing my dancers really hard just so that they can do amazing on stage, because they’ll just burn out and walk away from dance and I don’t want that,” she said. “I have a really awesome relationship with my body and movement, and making people hate rehearsal and each other and themselves is so unnecessary. Especially when we could create and have fun along the way.”
O’Keefe spoke about the importance of continuing the ethos of the program as an uplifting space. “I love Scripps dance,” they said. “I love Scripps dance, and I hope that it stays sacred and noncompetitive.”
O’Keefe also highlighted the collaborative spirit of the “Spooky, Scary, Gay, Halloween Show” and the skill of the dancers in it. “There is a magic that happens when everyone is on board and wants to perform and give to the audience and it’s amazing.”
Photo Courtesy: Belen Yudess ’24
