UCO High School Dance Festival 2017 | Performance

The following excerpt is originially from UCO's Press Release blog at:  https://www3.uco.edu/press/prdetail.asp?NewsID=24082

The University of Central Oklahoma’s Department of Dance will host the annual Oklahoma High School Dance Festival, a two-day festival of classes and performances, Nov. 17-18, on Central’s campus.

The festival brings together high school students from across the state for two days of events, which will include classes in ballet, modern and jazz dance styles, as well as cultural dance forms. Students will have the opportunity to network and study alongside other dance programs, before performing with the UCO Kaleidoscope Dance Company in a public concert each night at 7:30 p.m. in Mitchell Hall Theatre.

“The Oklahoma High School Dance Festival offers a variety of class levels, from beginning to advanced, to meet the needs of both new and established high school dance programs,” said Jill Priest, UCO Department of Dance faculty and coordinator for the dance festival.

“The students will have the opportunity to take classes in a variety of dance forms, some of which aren’t offered in Oklahoma K-12 dance programs, and participate in hands-on learning through collaboration and performance.”

In addition to the collaborative performances, the UCO Kaleidoscope Dance Company will perform four works, including a dance based on the classical Indian dance form Bharatnatyam – choreographed by guest artist Lavanya Raghuraman – and two pieces that premiered at the Gibney Dance Center in New York in 2017. Each evening will close with a work choreographed by members of the dance company Diavolo|Architecture in Motion,  one of the top 10 finalists for the 2017 season of America’s Got Talent.

“Kaleidoscope members have had the opportunity to learn from many renowned guest artists,” said Tina Kambour, UCO Department of Dance faculty and co-coordinator for the dance festival.

“Diavolo raised the bar even higher, and Kaleidoscope will deliver a thrilling and daring performance.”

The festival is supported, in part, by the Oklahoma Arts Council, which receives support from the State of Oklahoma and the National Endowment for the Arts.

For a complete listing of UCO College of Fine Arts and Design events and performances, visit cfad.uco.edu.