The UTM Dance Ensemble had their spring concert titled I’ll Be Me April 11 and 12 in the Student Life Center Gymnasium.
The concert was held at 8 p.m. both nights.
I’ll Be Me consisted of 11 dances of various styles, including hip-hop, modern, post-modern, lyrical, contemporary and ballet.
“Acceptance,” the first dance of the evening, was choreographed by Sarah McCormick, Associate Professor of Dance Education, and was performed by the entire ensemble to the song “Let It Go” by James Bay.
Other dances included a solo performance by sophomore Engineering Major Laryn Hampton titled “You Are the Best Thing,” a duet titled “I Will Leave a Light On,” a trio titled “Vanilla Salted Caramel Apple,” and a solo performance by junior Fine and Performing Arts major Anna Lax Gatti from Medina titled “He Has Always Been Faithful to Me.”
After a brief intermission , the ensemble returned to perform “Welcome to the Nutcracker Doll Shop,” which included different steps from The Nutcracker.
The next dance was a solo performed and choreographed by Maaliya’h Austin, a senior Fine and Performing Arts major. Her dance was entitled “Creation/Love in Full Effect.”
Another piece choreographed by Anna Lax Gatti entitled “Insecurites in Motion” was performed to “Head Above Water” by Avril Lavigne and “In My Blood” by Shawn Mendes. This dance showed the overwhelming effects of anxiety.
“Insecurities in Motion” was followed by “Oblivion” choreographed and performed by DeMoulin.
Following DeMoulin’s dance, junior Fine and Performing Arts Major Paul Watkins performed an excerpt from the musical You’re a Good Man Charlie Brown. The monologue was entitled “I Think Lunchtime is about the Worst Time of the Day for Me.”
The evening concluded with “Life Passing at the Speed of Light,” a multicultural piece choreographed by McCormick. “[This] piece was just my love of cultural dance forms and just being fun,” said McCormick
“Each piece had it’s own purpose and reason,” said McCormick. “I am very much into sharing the individual expression of what they feel.”
Dominique Poe, a sophomore Social Work Major from Henderson, said, “It’s just a really fun show that’s very culturally diverse. We just had a lot of fun with it.”
