By Stephanie Stanavich
The Youngstown State University Department of Theater and Dance is to hold their 12th annual Dance Festival on October 2. The festival will run from 9 to 5 in the Beeghly Physical Education Center on campus.
Christine Cobb is the professor in Department of Theater and Dance and the director and coordinator of the Dance Management Major and Dance Minor at YSU.
“We started in 2004 and we believe it is important for students to get a chance to study with artists/educators in a variety of dance genres to further their education in the field,” Cobb said. “It is also an enjoyable day filled with physical activity and social interaction.”
The Festival offers improvisation, hip hop, lyrical contemporary, yoga for dancers, modern ballet, tap technique and musical theater for ages thirteen and up.
“New this year are classes ages 9 to twelve who will take classes with YSU Dance Management majors in Hip hop, Tap, Musical Theater, and Modern with YSU student teachers,” Cobb said.
The workshop cost is forty dollars for all adult classes, plus four master classes and performances by the artists and participants. For the younger group, classes are $7.50 per class.
This year at the Festival, guest artists include Michael Anthony Alterio, Susan Gillis and Angelo Lemmo.
“The Dance Festival is open to all YSU students, staff, faculty members as well as community members,” Cobb said. “We have students participating from other Universities as well. YSU student teachers are Angelique Tanner, Taryn Kerfoot, Bailey Mackey, and Shannon Peterson.”
Bailey Mackey is a junior in the Dance Management Major at YSU and one of the student teachers that will be teaching in the festival.
“I am teaching the modern and contemporary workshop being offered to students 9 to twelve,” Mackey said. “However, deciding what classes to take is quite difficult, as I would love to take them all.”
Mackey plans on attending the Intermediate/Advanced Tap Technique, Lyrical Contemporary, and Musical Theater Dance classes.
“The technique classes are designed to be fun and at the same time challenging, and even though the day is long, it is worth it,” Mackey said.
Savannah Lach is a senior at YSU and a Dance Management Major. This is her fourth year attending the Dance Festival. She will be taking a modern class and a contemporary class.
“I have participated in the Dance Festival before and I believe it could benefit anyone socially and physically,” Lach said.
Registration for the Festival has officially closed but there is still room to participate. Individuals who wish to attend can show up at the door but may not get the exact class they would like to attend if the classes are already full.
“They can call me, Chris Cobb, at 330-941-1896 or email me at [email protected] to register for classes and/or to receive the registration flyer for information,” Cobb said.