From hip-hop to ballet, The Fraser Street Dancers give audiences an assorted blend of unique dances that appeal to the varied tastes of dance connoisseurs.
The Fraser Street Dancers, a student company of the Central Pennsylvania Dance Workshop (CPDW) will be performing ballet, modern, jazz and tap in their annual spring concert at 7 p.m. tomorrow at the Fairmount Avenue Elementary School, 411 S. Fraser St.
Jill Brighton, artistic director of Fraser Street Dancers and a member of Penn State's dance faculty, said what makes this year's performance so special is that each dance is very unique.
"The diversity of the show is very important to the overall performance," she said.
The concert consists of nine dances, three of which were choreographed by student choreographers of the CPDW. Late-night reruns of The X-files inspired "Transformation," a modern piece choreographed by Brighton.
"This particular dance is very bizarre. The dancers are never human — they're in another world. It's very alien-like," she said.
A tap-dance duet to "Twilight Zone" by Manhattan Transfer is another featured dance, this one choreographed by Cheri Farnham (junior-art education).
Also included is a hip-hop dance to music by Outkast and choreographed by Erinn Hatter (junior-art education) titled "Back It Up!" Cosima Wiese (graduate-plant pathology) choreographed a modern dance trio entitled "Shona," which features music from Zimbabwe.
The select company of six talented dancers, whose ages range from 14 to 41, earned their positions through auditions. However, the Fraser Street Dancers are not your typical performance group.
One aspect that attracts many members is the company's community outreach. Last Tuesday they performed for residents of the University Park Nursing Center.
Erica Green (senior-Human Development Family Studies), who has studied dance for nine years and has been a part of the Fraser Street Dancers for two semesters, said she finds the community aspects beneficial.
"Bringing dance to people who don't normally get to see it is really great. It also benefits us because we can use it for service projects and volunteering," she said.
Tickets for Saturday's performance are available at the door. The cost is $5 for adults, $4 for children 12 and under.
The CPDW and the Fraser Street Dancers will be holding another performance titled "Flora and Fauna" at 7 p.m. on April 29 at the State College Area High School South Auditorium.
