Students enrolled in dance classes will showcase a semester of work for students, families, faculty and the public with A Night of Dance at 7 tonight in 113 White Building.

The informal, free performance will highlight elements of ballet, modern, jazz, tap, African and musical theater styles from all levels of dance classes.

"It's going to be quite a broad spectrum of dance," said Jill Brighton, head of the dance minor.

Brighton, who teaches three levels of modern dance, said some performances will incorporate individual work from students.

Molly Bell (senior-public relations), a dance minor taking beginning and intermediate modern as well as advanced tap this semester, choreographed a piece for her beginning modern class as part of an independent study.

Bell said most of the dance students are ready for their big night and excited about the opportunity to share their work with one another.

"I think it'll be a lot of fun to see what the other classes have been doing all semester," Bell said.

Spence Ford, dance instructor, said small performances such as this one put the emphasis on individual achievement instead of the costumes and characters of a formal show.

"Some of these students put tights on for the first time in August, and it's amazing to see how far they've come," Ford said.

Ford, who focuses on musical theater styles but also teaches both ballet and advanced jazz, said the interaction between the audience and a performer is necessary to test the performer's ability to implement a new technique.

Lon Hurst, assistant professor of dance, agreed that a performance essentially fulfills the function of dance as a performance-based art form.

"It's surprising what people will invest when they know they're doing something for an audience instead of just a grade," said Hurst, who teaches both tap classes and a beginning jazz class.

For Lisa Schale (senior-musical theatre), an audience comprised mostly of fellow dancers demands an even greater investment than an audience that doesn't always know exactly what the performers should be doing.

While Schale said she is excited to see the other classes perform, her own performances in advanced jazz, musical theater styles and advanced ballet will be nerve-wracking because most of her friends will be watching.

"It's also nice, though, because if you mess up, they're your friends and they'll understand," Schale said.

Hurst said the students have been practicing all week to put the finishing touches on their performances and, as with any show, will be ready for the challenge by tonight.

"Seconds before, it can be chaos," Hurst said. "But when it needs to happen, it happens."