Â鶹Éçmadou

Although the new academic year has only just started, dance students from the Department of Theatre and Dance have already been working hard.

At the end of August, these dancers performed at Jacob’s Pillow, the oldest internationally acclaimed dance festival in the United States, and “the dance center of the nation,” according to the New York Times. Selection to perform at Jacob’s Pillow is extremely competitive, and the Â鶹Éçmadou dance students began the audition process last semester.

In March 2019 the Â鶹Éçmadou Dance Program attended the American College Dance Association (ACDA) Southeastern Conference at Kennesaw State University in Kennesaw, Georgia. During the conference the students performed the piece, Awaken, in a formal concert. During these concert performances, a panel of expert adjudicators selects the top pieces to be performed in a gala performance for the conclusion of the conference.

From the gala performances, selected pieces are submitted to the curators of Jacob’s Pillow for their annual “Highlights of ACDA” performance during the Inside/Out concert series. From the twenty-six dances selected by the ACDA adjudicators, the Florida Southern Dance Program was chosen as one of only six college and university dance programs to be included in this very selective performance.

“The Â鶹Éçmadou dancers were very excited and honored to travel to Massachusetts and take the stage at Jacob’s Pillow to perform Awaken,” said head of the Dance Program, Professor Erin LaSala.

To catch a performance by the dance majors a bit closer to campus, the annual Fall Dance Concert, “Fall into Dance 2019,” will be held in Branscomb Auditorium on November 9th and 10th. For more information, please visit: /community/festival-of-fine-arts/ffa-events.aspx