ETSU dancers will move to bongos, banjos and south-of-the-border beats at the dance program’s first performance since joining the Division of Theatre in January.
The show – with performances Friday through Sunday in ETSU’s Bud Frank Theatre – will include a mix of four styles of dance, choreographed by ETSU dance instructors Judy Woodruff and Cara Harker and visiting artist Erin Law.
The dances will be performed by ETSU students and dancers from area professional dance company Mountain Movers, all of whom auditioned in September.
“It’s a nice eclectic mix of professional dancers and beginning students,” says Harker, a dance faculty member since August 2007.
Among the equally eclectic mix of dance pieces is a tango suite for her tango piece features eight women and four men – “an exploration into the archetypes of love through dance” – choreographed by Harker.
“The diverse settings, choreographers and types of music are all part of the learning experience,” Harker said.
“My aim was to introduce the students to something new,” she said.
Harker is a graduate of The Chicago College of Performing Arts at Roosevelt University.
“All of the dancers except one had never danced the tango prior to our work together,” said Harker. “They have all worked very hard.”
Country and tango suites dancer Leslie Hughes not only likes the tango but also the new dance-theatre combination at ETSU. “Dancing and acting have a lot in common,” Hughes said. “Dancers have to know how to act and actors have to know how to move.”
Already a landmark for the collaboration of dance and theatre at the university, the performance will also incorporate another element, live bluegrass.
During the country suite, sounds of acoustic instruments played by the ETSU Bluegrass Band compel the dancers. “I’m so excited about it,” Hughes said. “We dance better with the band than with the tape.”
Judy Woodruff, ETSU’s dance program founder, founder of the Mountain Movers dance company and adjunct faculty member in communication, choreographed the country suite in the early 1980s and has brought it back for this special concert.
“Collaboration with other artists isn’t an unusual facet of her concerts,” Woodruff said. “But most often the production partners are visual artists.
“The choreography itself was my first ‘exploration’ into celebrating the culture of this region.
Woodruff also choreographed four modern pieces for the concert. “It employs some motifs from Irish and Scottish dancing,” she said.
In addition to the three suites, the performance features a single dance, Diurnal Shifts, choreographed by Erin Law, dance program coordinator at Vanderbilt University.
Law was commissioned to choreograph the piece with funds provided by Arts Build Communities through the Johnson City Area Arts Council.
A little Latin, a taste of Irish and a splash of bluegrass create a unique recipe for movement.
“It is a mixture of dances,” Harker said. “You won’t be stuck with one style for an hour and a half. It will be a fun show to watch.”
The dance mixture works and the mixture of theatre and dance melds well. “The Division of Theatre has a big presence at ETSU and will help the dance program gain exposure,” says Harker, who had a lead role in ETSU’s Three the Hard Way in fall 2006.
Performances are 7:30 p.m. Feb. 22-23 and 2 p.m. Feb. 24. Tickets are $15 for general admission or $7 for students and senior citizens.
They may be purchased at www.etsu.edu/theatre or through the Division of Theatre & Dance box office at 439-6511.

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