On Saturday, November 4, The Purchase PAC will present LA-based contemporary dance company BODYTRAFFIC. We were super excited to learn that one of the dancers, Alana Jones, is a Purchase College Conservatory of Dance alum. We love it when alums return to our stages as professional dancers! In anticipation of the performance, we asked Alana a few questions about her time at Purchase and her career. Take a look!

Why did you choose to attend Purchase?
Raven Berkley is the reason I was interested in Purchase. She came to take class with us at Dance Theatre of Harlem and I was in awe. At the time, I was a student in the school and she was a junior at Purchase. She was the first Black ballerina I saw at a high level. All I knew was that I needed to look like her when I was her age. We conversed and the rest was history.

How did your time at Purchase help shape your career?
My time at Purchase prepared me for life outside of college, beginning with my training. I learned so much. I was able to build my dance schedule to include the type of technique classes I wanted to grow in. Also, the audition processes we had each year helped to prepare me for company auditions.

How did you get involved with BODYTRAFFIC?
My great friend Alysia Johnson sent me the BODYTRAFFIC audition post on Instagram and I applied right away. I was in conversation with Tina, the director, right afterward. She had me learn 3 pieces of repertory from a video, then I came to audition in person after she viewed them. She offered me the contract in the first hour of what was supposed to be a week-long audition.

Have you been back to Purchase since graduating? What are you looking forward to most about being back on campus?
I have not been back to Purchase since graduating but I love that I’ll be coming back in this capacity. I’m looking forward to seeing all the young professionals and seeing my former professors again.

Is there anything you can tell audiences to expect from the performance?
The audience should expect a diverse program. Each piece has a beautiful story to tell and I hope we can take the audience on a journey.

Good seats to see BODYTRAFFIC on November 4 are still available. Click here for program details and tickets.

Alana Jones photo by Guzman Rosado.