UW-River Falls Dance Theatre presents annual spring concert

The University of Wisconsin-River Falls Dance Theatre will present their annual spring concert April 13-16 at 7:30 p.m. in the Blanche Davis Theatre of the Kleinpell Fine Arts building. The concert is open to the public.

UWRF Dance Theatre, a modern dance company, has brought an artistic dance program to students who love to dance for over 30 years. It strives to provide rich dance experiences and performances to River Falls and the surrounding communities.

The 2016 concert features the work of numerous UWRF Dance Theatre alumni, current students, faculty, and professionals. The evening will consist of diverse dance forms including salsa, contemporary, modern, and jazz.
This year’s Dance Theatre had the unique opportunity to work with guest artist (a visiting professor from the University of Minnesota-Twin Cities and dance scholar) Cindy Garcia. Garcia worked with students for several rehearsals to develop an understanding of both the salsa club culture, as well as traditional and contemporary salsa steps. “Los Compañeros” takes these exuberant salsa steps to the stage. Current Dance Theatre member Mercedes Leininger worked with 10 dancers to create a piece “The Weight We Bear” which premiered at the American College Dance Association North-Central Regional Conference March 21. Leininger explores the emotional process of child loss through both the eyes of a couple, as well as an individual’s experience. “Broken,” choreographed by Dance Theatre Director Mari Kline-Kluck, also premiered at the American College Dance Association North-Central Regional Conference. “Broken” utilizes projections to explore the journey of betrayal to eventual acceptance and the ability to rise above and move past said betrayal. Dancers express the rollercoaster of emotions through virtuosic movement sequences and sustained lifting sections. Dance Theatre Alumnus Ricardo Suarez has restaged a comical favorite piece, “It’s All About Me...and My Moods,” from Dance Theatre’s 2009 Spring Concert. The piece is a humorous and lively display of the many emotions surrounding a bride’s big day. Dancers dive, jump, and twirl across the stage with bridal gowns trailing behind them.

The concert is appropriate for all ages and backgrounds.

Admission is $5/students and children, $8/seniors (60+), $10/adults, and free for UWRF students with ID (one ticket per ID). Tickets can be purchased at the University Theatre Box Office in the Kleinpell Fine Arts building weekdays beginning April 7 from 10 a.m.-1 p.m., and beginning at 6:30 p.m. on performance days. Tickets can also be purchased by phone at 715-425-3114, and online until 3 p.m. on the date of performance at www.uwrf.edu/SASA/UniversityTheatre/OrderTickts.cfm. For more information, email Kline-Kluck at mari.kline@uwrf.edu or call 715-425-0743.