MSU Dance grand jetés to the Kennedy Center
This third-time honor shows the strength of the Dance program
Minnesota State University, Mankato Dance is an insanely talented group of individuals who have recently been selected for a Kennedy Center performance. This is the conference’s highest honor. It just goes to show the hard work and dedication that MSU Dance has.
The University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point held a North-Central Regional Conference of the American College Dance Association this year. Dance teams from as far away as Texas attended this event. There were forty-eight dances that were judged from a total of twenty-eight schools. Twelve of the best teams were then awarded placement into the Gala Concert. Finally, out of those twelve, three teams were then selected to honorably perform at the National Dance Conference at Kennedy Center. This event will be held this coming June.
This exciting honor will be the third time MSU has been selected for nationals in the last four Kennedy Center adjudications.
Alina Fatieieva and Rachel Dreist were two MSU students who performed dances. Rachel Dreist’s dance was performed in the Informal Concert. The MSU dancers performed wonderfully and received very positive feedback. Ian Lah and Abby Okoneski performed an excellent duet which was well liked by the audience. These are just a few of the extremely talented dancers.
MSU’s dance program offers students several different degree programs that are grounded in liberal arts education. These degree programs include a BFA in dance, a BA, a BS in dance for Generalist Track, Pre-Professional Dance Therapy, or Private Studio Training, and also a BS in K-12 Dance Education. A dance minor is also available for students.
During these programs, students are taught about teaching, performing, private studio ownership, choreographing, dance therapy, arts administration, dance writing, and related fields. Auditions are not required for admittance into the program but are required for placement levels, casting, concerts, and Freshman Talent Grants.
If you are interested in possibly joining the Dance Program, you are encouraged to observe their classes and even visit with the dance faculty and current students. You can do so by calling Julie Kerr-Berry at 507-389-2125 or emailing her at julie.kerr-berry@mnsu.edu.
A very special thanks goes out to the professors, Julie Kerr-Berry and Melissa Rosenberger, who taught great classes. They served as wonderful ambassadors for the Department and University and were well appreciated. The dancers were exhausted over the long five day conference. A performance at Kennedy Center is such an exciting achievement.
Congratulations again to MSU Dance, keep up the good work!