From hip-hop to modern dance and all types in between, students can support the multitudes of talented University dancers and choreographers this weekend as they get their groove on at the LSU Theatre’s Dance Concert.
The LSU Dance Ensemble, LSU hip-hop crew Legacy, the LSU Tap Ensemble, the University ballet and jazz dance classes and members of the Baton Rouge Ballet Theatre are all set to perform a wide variety of creative numbers bound to shake up audiences Saturday and Sunday at Shaver Theatre on Dalrymple Drive, according to the event’s news release.
Molly Buchmann, professional-in-residence and head of dance in the Department of Theatre, said she selects students to choreograph dances in the performance, and the concert is a student production.
“One of my favorite parts is watching the young choreographers grow in their ability to take on all the aspects of putting something on the stage,” she said.
Buchmann said a phenomenal batch of dancers is working to put the concert together.
“I have a really talented group this year,” she said. “They always have some surprises for us. So, you’ll see lots of different styles of movement — very much modern-based movement for most of the pieces.”
Buchmann said the performance is a “different experience.”
“Every year people tell me that this is the best thing they’ve seen all year, and I know that it’s not any better than other things, but it is unique,” she said. “It’s not a dance recital or revue. It is college-aged choreographers who are trying to say something.”
Adrienne Sonnier, general studies senior and choreographer-dancer in the Dance Ensemble, said students are required to put in an extensive amount of work to the performance, but it’s all worth it in the end.
“Leading up to [the concert] it’s really stressful, and I have to keep reminding myself, ‘I’m doing it because I love to dance,'” she said. “But once it’s over, especially as a choreographer, when you get to see your piece onstage with lighting and costuming and things like that, I’m so excited that I did it.”
Sonnier said the inspiration for her modern piece was the television show “Mad Men.”
“[All the dancers] are dressed up in [’60s] style clothing,” she said. “It’s very cutesy and fun.”
Besides her modern piece, Sonnier said there are many styles of dance in the performance.
“Even if you don’t really like dancing or watching any sort of theatrical production, I still think you’re going to be entertained because there’s such a wide variety of pieces and genres of dance,” she said.
Ali Manion, mass communication junior and dancer-choreographer for Dance Ensemble and the LSU Tap Ensemble, said she has danced her entire life and is happy the University offers a minor program that enables her to continue her studies.
Manion encourages University students to attend the event because of the diversity of the dancers and their choreography.
“All the choreographers bring their own style to the concert, which is what I think makes it so unique,” she said. “We all come from different dance backgrounds, and it’s nice to see that all come together in one evening.”
 
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Contact Cathryn Core at [email protected]