Students in the School of Dance will see their creations come alive tonight at the opening of the Young Choreographers’ Showcase, a blend of ballet and modern dance conceived, choreographed and performed entirely by students.

Prospective student choreographers go through a rigorous adjudicating process where faculty determines which pieces have the merit to be performed, but beyond that, students are given free reign to pursue their creativity.

“It’s students showcasing their talent beyond what their major is,” said Cameron Lee, an alumnus who graduated in December and has choreographed for the showcase four times.

Tonight, he’ll also be performing in the dance he helped choreograph, a contemporary piece titled “Beyond Pash.” It’s his first time working collaboratively on a piece, he said, but stretching to do new things is part of the process.

“This is a chance to show the faculty and our friends and family what we have inside,” Lee said. “They like to see what we have to offer.”

For Lindsey Marchand, a modern dance performance senior, the showcase is an opportunity to present something near to her heart. Marchand, who almost opted to be a zoology major, choreographed a modern piece titled “Lives Cut Short” about deforestation and its negative impact on endangered species.

The piece, which also functions as her capstone, features vines hung above the stage and carried the added hurdle of making the dancers’ movements seem animal-like, she said.

“[I] always want to do something the audience has never seen,” Marchand said. “It’s difficult.”

Because the showcase is student-centric, and being the choreographer means you’re the one pushing someone to excellence rather than being pushed yourself, it presents a unique opportunity for dance students, she said.

“I think you learn a lot about yourself,” Marchand said.

Kerri Lambert, a second year graduate student in ballet, said the opportunity to practice the craft is important for students.

“It’s so vital to your growth as a choreographer,” she said.

Lambert, who did her undergraduate work in dance at Brenau University in Georgia and is choreographing for the showcase for the second time, said although ballet is often considered more technically rigid than modern dance, there is plenty of room for innovation.

“Ballet is a living art, and it’s done with living bodies,” she said.

Lambert drew inspiration for her choreography from the music — a Vivaldi piece that is energetic and dynamic, she said. The dance is an abstract celebration of lines, space and shape, and the way the body can produce these things.

Whatever preconceptions people come into the showcase with about ballet, contemporary or dance in general, they will see something they’ve never seen before, Lambert said.

The Young Choreographers’ Showcase opens at 8 p.m. tonight in the Reynolds Performing Arts Center, and runs through Sunday.

Young Choreographers’ Showcase

Times: 8 p.m. tonight, Friday, Saturday and 3 p.m. Sunday

Where: Reynolds Performing Arts Center, 560 Parrington Oval in Norman

Tickets: $22 — adult