YSU Dance Ensemble presents ‘Reflections’

Staff report

YOUNGSTOWN

The Youngstown State University Dance Ensemble will present its 24th annual spring concert, titled “Reflections,” Thursday, Friday and Saturday in Ford Theater, inside Bliss Hall.

Under the artistic direction of Christine Cobb, faculty member in the department of theater and dance, the concert will feature 11 dances showcasing 31 performers in a variety of dance genres, including ballet, tap, contemporary jazz and modern.

The YSU Dance Ensemble, a sanctioned student organization, accepts members via an audition process in the fall term. Members practice weekly and hone their performance skills as well as their leadership skills.

Many of the students’ works are choreographed by students who are majoring in dance management.

Choreographers examined historical events and life experiences to create many of the featured pieces, which are centered on the Holocaust, Hurricane Katrina’s devastation in New Orleans, the co-existence and interfacing of technology and the human workforce, the rise and fall of the Youngstown steel industry, and the movie “For Colored Girls.”

Student choreographers include Jillian Billeck, Kiara Jones, Alana Lesnansky, Nicolette Pizzuto, Alyssa Sikora, Taryn Kerfoot, Rebecca VanVoorhis and Holly Vavlas.

Guest choreographers and dancers include Lindsay Renea, Hayley Platt and Elena Cvetkovich.

Renea, an adjunct YSU faculty member and former principle with Garth Fagan Dance Company, choreographed a modern/Afro-Caribbean fusion dedicated to her grandfather and the spirit of progress in the 21st century.

Platt and Cvetkovich, co-founders and artistic directors of Youngstown Dance Project, choreographed a piece titled “Shadows of the Steel City” in which they also will dance.

YSU alumni Paul Miletta and Shannon Eller round out the evening’s guest performances, dancing a duet choreographed by Miletta.

YSU students performing in the concert are Naudya Bankston, Youngstown; Jillian Billeck, Girard; Krista Colarosa, Bethel Park, Pa.; Taylor Davidson, Hubbard; Allison Dolphin, Salem; Christina Fonner, East Liverpool; Lily Hockenberry, Youngstown; Kiara Jones, Youngstown; Taryn Kerfoot, Enon Valley, Pa.; Brooke Kobel, Coshocton; Savannah Lach, Buena Vista, Pa.; Alana Lesnansky, Youngstown; Gina Marafiote, Hubbard; Miriah Mascetta, New Castle, Pa.; Rachel Mientkiewicz, Niles; Shannon Peterson, Clarion, Pa.; Nicolette Pizzuto, New Middletown; Hayley Platt, Warren; Stephanie Schornack, Youngstown; Emily Shipley, Struthers; Alyssa Sikora, Masury; Angelique Tanner, Waverly; Rebecca VanVoorhis, North Canton; Holly Vavlas, Campbell; and Alessandra Volpe, Sharon, Pa.

Tickets are $10 ($5 for seniors; $3 for YSU students). All performances start at 7:30 p.m.