A student choreographed work that will be staged at the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C., and a dance inspired by an internationally known dancer and choreographer will be performed during the Theatre and Dance Department�s annual production of "Danstage," May 3 -5 and 9�11, at the University of Wisconsin Stevens Point.

The dance concert will open Friday, May 3 at 8 p.m. in Jenkins Theatre of the Fine Arts Center. Performances on Saturday, May 4, and Thursday through Saturday, May 9-11, will be at 7:30 p.m. The Sunday, May 5, matinee will be at 2 p.m.

Admission is $11 for the general public, $10 for senior citizens and $6.50 for youth. Tickets can be purchased at the Arts and Athletics Ticket Office in the lobby of Quandt Gym or by calling (715) 346-4100 or 1-800-838-3378. Tickets also may be available at the door if the performance is not sold out.

"Break-Out," choreographed by Candace Jablonski, New Berlin, a senior dance major, was one of only two student pieces selected to advance from the American College Dance Festival Association (ACDFA) Central Region Festival in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. UWSP students will perform the piece at the national festival in Washington, D.C., in May.

Jablonski describes "Break-Out" as "aggressive." Performed by five dancers on pointe, it uses "hip-hop" music. The dance was one of 36 entered in the Central Region Festival that included work by students and faculty members from 50 college and universities in a nine-state region.

"Heaven and Earth" an electrifying work for 16 dancers that fuses modern dance with Afro-Caribbean forms, uses movements taught by Ferne Caulker and Roxanne Kess, who served as visiting artists throughout the past semester at UWSP.

Caulker is artistic and executive director of the Milwaukee-based Ko-Thi Dance Company and a professor in UW-Milwaukee�s Peck School of the Arts. She and Kess, associate artistic director of Ko-Thi, worked with the UWSP dance students. Caulker came to campus in January to demonstrate Afro-Caribbean movement and Kess choreographed "Heaven and Earth." Caulker and Kess also showed how to teach the movements to the students who then presented what they learned at Stevens Point elementary schools and McMillan Memorial Library in Wisconsin Rapids.

Other works on the program include "Emerging Awake" by Susan Hughes-Gingrasso, professor and program head of dance. It is a modern dance celebrating transformation for 12 performers to music of Paul Halley of the Paul Winter Consort.

Gingrasso also will perform a solo, "Monologue on a Loss," which she choreographed to "Alleluia," composed by Roger Nelson, assistant professor of theatre and dance. It is a journey through the multiple stages of a catastrophic loss to recovery.

Dance Professor James Moore has choreographed a character piece entitled "Ragtime" using the music of Scott Joplin. Set in 1910, dancers portray 12 patrons of a tavern.

"The Sky, Boxed," choreographed by Joan Karlen for 15 dancers, uses New York composer Marc Mellits� contemporary score. The themes of the choreography reflect Karlen�s fall 2001 sabbatical travel in Argentina and New York.

Alexis Hinkle, sophomore dance major and ACDFA regional entrant, choreographed "Tantrum," a high-energy tap piece for seven dancers.

Hilliary Murphy, Verona, a senior dance major, choreographed "Allure," a contemporary ballet for six dancers that makes the statement, "simplicity equals beauty."

Among the dancers for "Heaven and Earth" is Niki Harings, daughter of Greg and Cheryl Karr, 637 Janick Circle West, Stevens Point. Harings is a 1998 graduate of Stevens Point Area Senior High School and a senior at UWSP majoring in biology with a minor in dance. She has had roles in previous UWSP productions of "AfterImages" and "Danstage" and taught dance at Turning Point Dance Academy.

Maria Hell, daughter of David and Dolores Hell, 1911 Sampson St., Wisconsin Rapids, serves as assistant choreographer and performs in "Ragtime." A 2000 graduate of Assumption High School, Hell is a sophomore majoring in dance. She has had roles in previous UWSP productions of "AfterImages" and "Danstage" and studied at Dance with Pam Studio for nine years.

Colleen Coy, daughter of Stephen and Jean Coy, 1225 East 20th St., Marshfield, will perform in "Emerging Awake." A 1998 graduate of Marshfield High School, she is a senior majoring in dance. She has had roles in previous UWSP productions of "Danstage," "AfterImages" and student-sponsored productions. She has received scholarships to study with the Joffrey Ballet and the Virginia School of the Arts.

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