Under a white spotlight, three sheets of blank paper lay spread across the stage. As soft ambient music played, three dancers walked onstage, each holding a marker. One dancer laid on the paper as the other two traced the outline of her body.
The scene opened a 23-minute dance piece performed on Thursday, Nov. 12, that explored the beginning and end of a friendship among three women. The performance, titled “At Your Mercy,” was directed and choreographed by senior dance major Areli Ramirez as her senior performance at Columbia before graduating in December.
“Oftentimes, at least in my own friendships, in the past, I’m always trying to hold on and trying to keep connections, but I can’t force people to be with me,” Ramirez said. “So ‘At Your Mercy’, it’s like, ‘Okay, I’ll let you decide what happens with our relationship because I already put out what I would like from you, and it’s just not being reciprocated.’ So ‘Your Mercy’ is like leaving it up to them to decide.”
Senior dance major Lizeth Hernandez and Columbia alum Gabriela Marks, who graduated in Summer 2026 with a bachelor’s in graphic design, joined Ramirez for the performance, which drew about 25 people to Columbia’s Dance Center.
Ramirez had never directed a dance piece before. Although directing herself felt challenging, working with her friends who knew her style helped.
Ramirez became friends with Hernandez and Marks at Columbia through their interest in dance and their shared identity as Latinas. Being able to communicate in Spanish was a connecting experience.
Hernandez said she felt emotional when Ramirez asked her to be part of her capstone. Having to perform a final dance with her friends felt like the end of their chapter together at Columbia.
“I know the movement and the ideas that she has,” Marks said. “And it’s different from my thinking about doing pieces, and it just makes me even more of a dancer. It gives me more experience of having another director.”
Marks had a minor in dance, always having a passion for it. Meeting Ramirez and Hernandez nurtured that passion. She felt comfortable sharing her own experience of friendship and collaborating on the piece, having gone through a friendship break-up back in her hometown during rehearsals.
“One of the first rehearsals we had, we just talked. Having that from the start, I think, allowed our stories to also be told.” Marks said.
In the final act, Ramirez kept falling down and catching her ankle on Hernandez and Mark’s ankles until they dragged her up. They repeated this until the dancers were out of breath.
“It was very beautiful. The transitions were well done,” said Columbia alum Jalicia Jenkins, who graduated in 2026 with a bachelor’s degree in social media and digital strategy. “When it went from more silly to serious, the acting showed emotion, and in their actions, I knew what they were trying to say.”
The piece travels from childhood to adulthood, and gaining and losing friends on the way. Starting off as young girls, they are traced into assigned roles. Each dancer resists their place, but is pressured until they grow up and part ways. Their past is left with Ramirez holding what’s left of them.
Hernandez moves her body faster with the music but never finds stillness. Ramirez is upset but accepts her loneliness, while Marks is the most comfortable alone, dancing gracefully by herself.
Once they meet each other again, they try to chase their past friendship, physically holding onto one another while gripping in the air, holding each other’s hands until they let go again.
The dance ended with Ramirez by herself, but contempt.
“Whoever you meet, you meet, and if it can’t continue because of either or, that’s okay,” Ramirez said. “I know that having friends and having a support system is super important, but knowing that there’s always someone there that’s going to be supporting you, you might not find the right person right now, but they’re going to show up one way or another.”
“At Your Mercy” will be having its final performance on Saturday, Nov. 14 at 11 a.m. at the Dance Center.
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