The Illinois State University School of Theatre and Dance is holding the Spring Dance Concert on April 21 and 22 at 7:30 p.m, and April 23 at 2 and 7:30 p.m. The show takes place in Westoff Theater on the ISU campus.
*Darby Wilde is the artistic director of the show, and noted that Westoff Theater is a great location for the dance concert because it's a thrust stage, as opposed to a proscenium arch. The thrust stage means the dancers are visible from three sides, which means the dancers have to dig deep to find their performance presence.
*Two guest artists and three faculty members are the choreographers: ISU alumnus Christopher Marosi and New York-based Michael Richman are the guests, and Greg Merriman, Darby Wilde and Sara Semonis are the faculty artists.
*Wilde said the ISU has the only dance teacher education program in the state of Illinois, so the students are a select group. Upon graduation they are highly sought after in the dance education world.
*The dance performance majors often go on to teach and many go on to have professional careers as dancers and choreographers.