NMU dance program recital Saturday

Northern Michigan University students and faculty are dancing up a storm Saturday night.

NMU’s dance program is hosting a performance at the Forest Roberts Theatre.

It includes ballet, jazz, hip-hop, a performance in memory of the late NMU student-athlete Ariana Alioto and more.

“A bunch of students that are interested in dance or have danced can choreograph pieces,” NMU sophomore Laura Johns said, “or there are auditions and they can audition to be in other people’s pieces, and then we have some poetry.”

“I think that it’s allowing the community to really see how great dance really is, and it’s becoming a more and more recognized thing in our community”, NMU sophomore Jimme Vereb said.

A change NMU made to its academic programs this school year is helping dance become more recognizable.

The university has added a dance minor.

“I actually transferred to Northern in the middle of my freshman year, and I was a dance minor at the first school I was at,” NMU junior Alycia Heckthorn said. “And I was really disappointed that that was something I was going to lose, so I was really excited when I found out they were going to have one here.”

“I’m really excited that Northern’s finally taking some real progress on making dance a big thing here,” NMU sophomore Maureen Sullivan said. “We all love dance a lot, so it’s nice that the community can enjoy it, too.”

The performance is at 7:30 tomorrow night at the Forest Roberts Theatre.

Tickets are $5 for the general public and $3 for students.