Senning's performances marry modern dance with aerial work

Chesterfield County native Connor Senning is flying high these days. Not only is he earning an education at The University of the Arts in Philadelphia, Pa., but he’s also doing aerial work and modern dance routines while on tour with performance troupe Brian Sanders’ JUNK.

Senning started dancing with Chesterfield Dance Center when he was 8 years old. Around the same time, he also began performing with Chesterfield School of Ballet.

When Senning was 12 years old, he won a national audition for the Broadway tour of “Oliver.”

At first, Senning was selected as an understudy, but he eventually became a full cast member when he took over the role of Spider, a member of Fagin’s gang.

“That was my first big performance,” Senning said. “And I traveled for nine months with my mom while we were out on tour.”

“It was a normal Broadway audition with a cattle call, and it was an out-of-nowhere kind of thing when it happened. They cast me as an understudy, and I learned all of the boys’ parts.”

After the young man who had originally been cast as Spider left the show, Senning took on the role when the production stopped in Richmond. He portrayed the character from 2003 to 2004.

“We stayed in cities for one or two weeks at a time, so I took that time to relearn the parts,” Senning said. “And I did Spider’s role during the last couple of shows in Richmond, but Philadelphia was where I really started doing the part full-time.”

When the show’s run ended, Senning returned to Chesterfield County to perform with the Chesterfield Dance Center again. Soon after, he attended a boarding program for high school students at University of North Carolina School of the Arts in Winston-Salem, N.C.

And when it was time for Senning to select a college, he applied to Point Park University, Purchase College – State University of New York, University of North Carolina School of the Arts and The University of the Arts. Senning was offered scholarships at all four schools, but he said he accepted a full ride to The University of the Arts because the institution gave him flexibility in choosing a major.

“Well, it has three very distinct programs,” Senning said. “Modern, jazz and ballet, but you study all of those during your first two years.”

“But, my junior year, which I’m in now, is when you choose your major, and I chose modern. Also, being in a big city like Philadelphia is a huge draw for me because there are a lot more opportunities there.”

Brian Sanders, one of Senning’s first-year instructors, immediately recognized his talent and recruited him to join Sanders’ dance and theater troupe. Since 2011, Senning has been touring with Sanders’ latest show, “Patio Plastico Plus,” an act that combines dancing and daring aerial work with out-of-the-ordinary props.

“He’ll find an object, like a big metal cube that hangs from the ceiling, and we dance inside of it,” Senning said. “And there are ropes that hang from the ceiling horizontally.”

So, what are Senning’s aspirations for the future? Well, he said he hopes to tour with a modern dance company that will help him to see the world, but, more than that, he just wants to be paid to do what he loves.

“Ever since I started performing at 8 years old, it’s been natural for me, and it’s something that I can always strive to be better at,” Senning said. “But I’ve always loved the arts, just because (they’re) inside of me.”