News > April 17, 2008

By Samantha Cernuto | Senior writer

Four Wake Forest dancers, seniors Sarah Klyap and Brook Vogel and sophomores Katie Miller and Jennifer Reppucci, will be performing pieces choreographed by Assistant Professor of Dance Christina Tsoules Soriano along with professional dancers from North Carolina at 7:30 p.m. on April 30 in Scales Fine Arts Center.

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University dancers will collaborate with professional dancers April 30 in Scales Fine Arts Center. The event is a tremendous opportunity for all of the dancers involved. (Photo courtesy University News Service)

Both Soriano and all of the student dancers are excite about the collaboration

“We are excited and fortunate to have this opportunity,” Vogel said.

Soriano choreographed this performance last fall for eight of her students and has modified it for this collaboration. The concert is titled Petitions and includes “Postponing Descent,” which was performed at the 2008 American College Dance Festival, and “Every Text Has an Intertext,” which was featured at the North Carolina Dance Festival.

The professional dancers involved are Katherine Keifer Stark, Jennifer McNure, Amy Love Beasley and Ashlee Ramsey. The students have only met the professionals a few times. Performing with the professional dancers is exciting for all of the girls.

“It is a different level of commitment,” Vogel said.

“It raises the bar for us.” Klyap shared Vogel’s enthusiasm.

“It is a great opportunity to see different types of dance in a different capacity,” she said.

The students will be touring with the dancers to perform the concert at schools in New England including Trinity College and Providence College.

Soriano received a grant from the Office of Entrepreneurship and Liberal Arts to take the group on tour.

“We have already had a few rehearsals to teach them the dance and we’ll have five days over the summer to practice before the tour,” Reppuccisaid. The students are passionate about dance and have thought about it as a possible career at one time or another.

“It is nice to see different types of dance before making any decisions,” Miller said.

For Klyap, it is not a clear answer yet. “Don’t ask me, it causes heart palpitations,” she joked.

Vogel said that she’ll continue dancing after graduation; however, it will not be her primary career.

All four of the girls agree that this opportunity is very important for the university dance department as a whole.

The event also will be good for the university in general.

Not only will it promote the university’s name in the world of dance, but it could also encourage the administration to make dance a major, as it currently is not offered as one.

If students without a background in dance are looking for a way to get involved on campus, multiple elective classes are offered. The dancers recommend for beginning students the social dance class and beginners dance class and, for guys, the movement for men class.