After Marist College Dance Ensemble’s final spring showcase this weekend, Dana Murano is feeling extremely proud to be part of a program that has been so successful. Murano is currently a senior majoring in Psychology and minoring in Social Work. Murano is the president of the student-run dance organization, which is one of the largest clubs on campus. Although it is technically recognized as a club by the institution, MCDE functions more like a separate entity. Murano certainly has a great deal of responsibility as President, but claims she would not trade her experience in the position for anything.
Murano began her dance career at age three at Diane’s Dance Center in her hometown of Lindenhurst, Long Island. Ever since she began her dance training, Murano’s favorite styles have consisted of contemporary and lyrical. Towards the end of high school when it was time for Murano to conduct her college search, she did not consider pursuing dance as a career. “I just love to dance for fun,” says Murano. After taking eight AP courses in high school, she knew she wanted her college years to be spent focusing on an academically challenging course of study. Coming into Marist, Murano had prepared herself to face the disappointing reality that her days of performance dancing were over. Luckily, Murano discovered MCDE during the first semester of her freshman year and was thrilled to be given the opportunity to dance again.
During the second semester of her freshman year, Murano teamed up with the first friend she made through Dance Ensemble, Jennifer Ford, to choreograph a contemporary piece for the ensemble. “We were eager freshmen who were excited to choreograph!” says Murano. “When we decided to work together, we were scrolling through our iPods in the dining hall when U2’s ‘With or Without You’ came on and we both loved the song. We found a cover of the song online and just knew right away that we had to choreograph to it.” After choreographing seven semesters in a row for Dance Ensemble, Murano still deems “With or Without You” her favorite piece of choreography thus far.
Murano decided to run in the elections to be a part of MCDE’s executive board after being part of the organization for a few semesters and loving her experience. She soon became the Vice President of the organization. She didn’t join MCDE with the intentions of working all the way up to the role of President, but after serving on the board for a year, Murano was extremely enthusiastic and felt she was more than qualified to take on the presidency.
Auditioning and choosing choreographers, coordinating with administrators and other student leaders, managing 350 dancers, delegating responsibilities to her fellow board-members, and creating her own intricate choreography are only some of Murano’s responsibilities as MCDE President. In addition to running the club, Murano interns with New Horizons Resources and is in the process of completing her capping project. This celebrity already has a job lined up after graduation in May. She will be working with the Success Academy in New York City where she will be event planning for the network. She hopes to work with this organization for a while and eventually earn her Ph.D. in Education Psychology. As far as her biggest accomplishment at Marist, Murano beams with pride at the thought of bowing out of MCDE after two completely sold out performances with incredible audiences.
Words of wisdom from our campus celebrity? “Underclassmen: enjoy every second of your time at Marist and do not take it for granted because the time flies by.”
Photo credit: Anna Carbone