K-State’s School of Music, Theatre and Dance performed WinterDance 2012 in Nichols Theatre last night. Various dance styles were performed
including ballet, pointe, tap, jazz, lyrical, contemporary, modern and African.

The show’s opening number was
an African piece, and it closed with an upbeat tap routine performed
by K-State’s Tap Dance Ensemble.

However, the audience really got
into the funky, jazz piece titled “Hmmmmmmmmmmmmm,” choreographed by Julie L.
Pentz, associate professor of dance and the show’s director. During the performance, audience members smiled and bobbed their heads to the beat of the music, feeding off of the dancers’ energy.

Elizabeth Zabel, senior in
elementary education, said this was her favorite piece of the show.

“I loved their costumes, and I
really liked the lighting,” Zabel said. “I really liked how the lights
reflected off of the costumes; I thought it really added to it.”

Zabel said that she appreciated the way in which the dancers performed solo before coming together to dance as a group.

Another piece that received an enthusiastic reaction from the audience was “The Hat That… (Part 1).”

The theme was a silly, clumsy guy
dressed in tacky clothes approaching a hat and dancing with it in numerous
ways. Performed by Kyle Myers, graduate student in counseling and student development, it was the only humorous piece in the show and had the audience laughing
hysterically.

Pentz explained how
the dancers prepared for show time.

“The dancers came back early from
fall break, so they were back by Sunday,” Pentz said. “We went into technical
rehearsals and that’s when our lighting designers come into the theatre with
the dancers to work out lights.”

The dancers
had almost a full week’s preparation prior to the show, she said.

“On Tuesday we started our
run-throughs, Pentz said. “So the dancers were in the theatre Sunday, Monday,
Tuesday we started dress rehearsals, Wednesday final dress rehearsal, and here we
are.” 

Pentz added that she thought
the group’s performance was fantastic. She said it was the best yet out of all of the run throughs.

Mary Anderson, Manhattan resident, expressed her enjoyment for the very last piece of the show.

“I think it was a great idea to
close out the show with that tap dance,” Anderson said. “It was so upbeat, it
made me want to get up and tap dance with them.”

The final two showings of Winter Dance 2012 will be tonight and tomorrow at 7:30 p.m. in Nichols Theatre with an additional matinee showing at 2:30 p.m. tomorrow. K-State’s School of Music, Theatre, and Dance will also put on a SpringDance showcase with
the same variety of dance styles as the WinterDance. SpringDance 2013 is scheduled for April 5 and 6 of next year in McCain Auditorium. 

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