March 28, 2024

New faces and talent added to dance department

This archived article was written by: Laura Strate

The College of Eastern Utah dance department has exciting and eventful plans for fall semester. The Ballet Repertory Ensemble will be producing several performances as well as attending workshops in and around the state of Utah.
Auditions for the company were held recently on August 25.
Positions were available for four men and as many women that met the Ballet II level requirements.
September 17-19, the company will be attending a Nike hip-hop convention in Las Vegas. The head of the Nike company is Vangie Bisquera, a former member of the CEU department.
Throughout the rest of the semester, instructors will come to CEU to teach a wide variety of dance styles. Though the company must attend these workshops, there may be opportunities for the public to receive similiar classes from the teachers.
The dance department will hold the community classes on select Saturdays throughout the semester. In November, the company will have their annual presentations of “The Nutcracker” and “The Grinch”. The shows are scheduled to run the 18th through 20th and 22nd.
“The Grinch” will also be performed in Helper on November 29th and 30th in conjunction with the annual Helper Light Parade festivities. The ballet company requires dedication to all forms of dance as well as several hours of the dancers’ time.
To maintain a spot with the Ballet Repertory Ensemble, one must register for the company, performance, workshop, ballet, pointe, and modern dance classes.”The company girls are asked to keep their afternoons free and do their general education in the morning,” says Carolyn Gwyther, head of the dance department.
“We work the best we can around everyone’s schedule, but we’re rehearsing different things every afternoon and evening, Mondays through Fridays.”