UT’s Spring Dance Concert Feb. 18–20 to be Electric and Eclectic

The University of Tampa will present its popular Spring Dance Concert Thursday, Friday and Saturday, Feb. 18–20, at 8 p.m., with a Saturday matinee on Feb. 20 at 2 p.m. All performances are at UT’s Falk Theatre on Kennedy Boulevard opposite campus and are free and open to the public.

The Spring Dance Concert features choreography by UT faculty and guest artists, with performances by UT students. Dance styles include ballet, modern, contemporary, hip hop, West African and tap.

“The diversity of the Spring Dance Concert is its great strength,” said Susan Taylor Lennon, UT professor of dance. “We feature a broad range of dance styles and choreographers, and our students are from a wide range of cultural backgrounds as well. This concert is a feast for dance lovers, or even people just wanting a taste of dance.”

One highlight of this year’s performances will be recreations of “Rites of Passage and Celebration: Sinte and Soli” of the Baga people of Guinea, West Africa, choreographed by Kya “Mame Diarra” Conner. Conner trained in African dance during her studies in the countries of Ghana, Senegal and South Africa, and her piece will be accompanied by live drummers.

Another notable piece, choreographed by Christina Acosta, a dance faculty member from Hillsborough Community College, will be “Elbow. Head. Knee. Pelvis.” The piece explores the vocabulary of the first body parts that kids learn to develop motor coordination and juxtaposes it with a computer algorithm as a backdrop. The work questions our dependence on new technologies and our willingness to follow directions.

Other choreographers include UT dance faculty, including Lennon, Susannah LeMarquand, Sea Lee and Ya-Ju Lin; Marion Baldeon, known to local audiences for her outstanding performances with Moving Current Dance Collective and REVolutions mixed abilities dance company; Marlana LaCivita, who serves as dance captain and choreographer at Busch Gardens; and Beryl Colbert, founder and director of Live The Rhythm Company.

For more information, contact Lennon at (813) 257-3745.

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