WMU dancers chosen to perform at Kennedy Center

KALAMAZOO--Western Michigan University dance students have been invited to perform Lauren Edson's dance "Foreground" at the Kennedy Center for the national conference of the American College Dance Festival Association in Washington, D.C., in May.

"Foreground" was one of three dances chosen to perform at the May 25-27 event in the Eisenhower Theater at the Kennedy Center. WMU's troupe will perform in a matinee and evening concert.

To be chosen for this opportunity, WMU dancers participated in a vigorous adjudication process for four days in March at the east central conference of the American College Dance Festival held at Grand Valley State University. Forty-two dances from 27 colleges and universities were presented for adjudication by three nationally renowned choreographers, performers and dance scholars. Twelve of those dances were selected for presentation in a gala concert, and the national conference winners were announced following the concert.

Adjudicators described WMU dancers as "fierce, with committed brilliance" who "fully physicalized the material."

"Foreground" was choreographed by Lauren Edson, the winner of the first WMU Great Works Dance Project National Choreography Competition. The dance premiered in the dance department's 2012 Winter Gala Dance Concert. Edson currently performs with the Trey McIntyre Project, and her choreography has earned awards on the west coast. She was in residence at WMU in early September 2011 to create "Foreground" and returned to rehearse it and speak at the annual Great Works dinner in February 2012.

In its inaugural year, the WMU Great Works Dance Project National Choreography Competition attracted more than 70 entrees from 23 states.