The Southeastern Dance Program will soon present a spring dance concert performance titled “United 424,” which will combine a wide variety of dance styles choreographed by both dance students and instructors.
The concert will take place in the Vonnie Borden Theatre in D Vickers Hall on Thursday, April 25 at 7:30 p.m.
“The theme is uniting each dancer one style at a time to bring focus to the numerous styles of dance available to our dancers here at SLU as well as uniting our dance community as a stronger presence on this campus,” said Skip Costa, artistic director of “United 424” and  instructor of dance.
In addition to uniting dance styles, Costa hopes the concert will unite non-dancers on campus.
“Dance is not only an art form but a way to express yourself and let go of some of life’s strains,” said Costa. “We can free all of that stress by dancing through the emotions we store inside and freeing them with movement.”
Contemporary, modern,  jazz, hip-hop, theater dance and liturgical dance are among the many dance styles that will be presented at the Southeastern Dance Program Spring Concert Performance.
Many of the pieces were choreographed by Southeastern students based on real life emotions and experiences.
“I choreographed a small ensemble in a piece entitled ‘The Pace.’ I was inspired by life and how things are constantly changing. We as humans get caught up in the rush, but then there’s times in our lives where we feel stuck,” said dance student Averi Harris.
The second piece choreographed by Harris is entitled “Stripped.” Along with the dance is a live recording of her best friend, Rebecca Guy, a sophomore theater major at the University of Southern Mississippi.
“We really wanted the chance to bridge different forms of art and bring them together,” said Harris about the collaboration.
“For this concert, I decided to do something very different. My group piece is a musical theatre burlesque dance,” said Crystal Schayot, a senior majoring in general studies with a concentration in dance. “I used many of the songs from the popular movie ‘Burlesque’ with Cher and Christina Aguilera. This dance called ‘Burlesque’ will be made up of seven separate dances.”
She introduced the many surprises in store for the audience and  managed to incorporate a multitude of dance styles including ballet en pointe, tap, jazz, hip-hop and theatrical comedy.
Schayot and Stephanie Hughes are among student dancers preparing solo dances for the concert. Hughes intends to dance without any music, and her performance is dedicated to her younger brother Steven, who passed away from Alveolar Rhabdomyosarcoma, a rare form of cancer.
“[My favorite part is] when the students actually begin to commit to the choreography and let the dance take them to a state of performance. As they let go of the counting of the steps, they begin to perform in the moment,” said Costa. “[It’s] very rewarding to see that from my students.”  
Students have been rehearsing for the spring concert since Jan. 20 of this semester. Harris, Schayot said they hope that everyone enjoys the routines because of the hard work that was put into each performance.
Tickets for the spring concert are $5 each and will be on sale an hour before the show begins.
For additional information, visit the Department of Fine and Performing Arts page on the Southeastern website.