UR Ballet Performance Group will be putting on their spring performance this Sunday night in Upper Strong Auditorium at 7 p.m. The group will perform thirteen student choreographed songs and five classical choreographed songs by Rochester native Pamela Wilkins-White.
If you decide to attend the show on Sunday night do not expect your typical ballet. “We emphasize ballet as the foundation for dancing, but incorporate a lot of modern and even hip-hop numbers in our production,” junior Jessica Marcinkevage said.
The Ballet Performance Group has expanded tremendously in the past several years. Three years ago the group only had ten members; today there are thirty students who work hard to make their two performances each year a success. They practice three times a week, for two hours each time.
“We work very hard to put on a good performance for our audience,” freshman Katie Lelli said. “Hopefully this Sunday is no different than some of our past performances.”
Senior and group president Rebecca Kanengieter attributes the increase in group membership to several improvements in her organization. “I think we have really diversified ourselves in the past couple years. We now have lots of diversity in our performances. Besides ballet, we incorporate things like hip-hop and jazz into our shows,” she said.
Kanengeiter has also been impressed with the way her group has publicized their work throughout campus. “We’ve gotten our name and encouraged a lot of people to watch our shows. I don’t think there has been a person who has gone to one of our shows and not liked it.”
Members of UR Ballet Performance Group also help dispel the myth that the ballet is limited to women. The performance this weekend will feature a duet between Derrick Deng, a male and Jeanette Neir. “Derrick is very talented,” Lelli said.”Besides performing with us, he is also a member of Off-Broadway On Campus group.
Tickets for the UR Ballet Performance Group’s spring show are free of charge.
Rybaltowski can be reached at mrybaltowski@campustimes.org.
