‘The Heart Speaks’
The EIU Dancers are continuing a 30-year tradition with their annual spring concert titled “The Heart Speaks.”
Antoine Thomas, the director of the EIU Dancers, said the EIU Dancers were founded in 1981 and the annual concert is a great way for the dancers to showcase their talent.
“The concert also shows the Eastern community the amount of determination and emotion that the girl and boy dancers integrate into their work with a very diverse and stellar performance,” Thomas said.
Kristlyn Dalton, a senior elementary education major and member of the EIU Dancers, said there will be a variety of styles including hip hop, jazz, modern ballet, lyrical contemporary and musical theater.
“I like the lyrical contemporary piece the best because I feel like it gives us the best opportunity to show incredibly strong emotion through dancing and it gives us more room for creativity,” Dalton said.
She said this is her first year as a member of the EIU Dancers.
The different styles in the EIU Dancers Annual Spring Concert are separated into blocks but will be performed in one piece.
“It is one piece beginning to end but there will be different songs in different block sections to demonstrate which ones relate to one another,” Thomas said.
This is the first year Thomas has directed the EIU Dancers and it is also the first time the EIU Dancers have been sponsored by the kinesiology and sports studies department.
Thomas said preparation for the EIU Dancers Annual Spring Concert began the week after Homecoming last semester.
“For the past few weeks we have had practice start at 5 p.m. or 7 p.m. and it would last until around 10 p.m.,” Thomas said.
Dalton said the EIU Dancers used to practice every Tuesday and Thursday, and for the past three weeks they have been practicing every day.
“We have all been really working cooperatively with each other and all of the different choreographers have been really helpful with critiques and different tips,” Dalton said.
The theme for the annual spring concert is “The Heart Speaks.”
Thomas said this theme was chosen based on the students and how their expression with how they are feeling makes the dances speak.
“Because the dances are based on the core of raw emotion they make the heart cry and the concert is a great way for others to connect and identify with the different emotions,” Thomas said.
The concert will feature music from One Republic, Christina Aguilera, the Glee cast, Ludacris and Little Wayne among others.
The EIU Dancers Annual Spring Concert is at 7 p.m. today in the Doundna Theatre in the Doudna Fine Arts Center.
The concert will also be performed at 7 p.m. Friday and Saturday in the Doudna Theatre.
Rachel Rodgers can be reached at 581-2812
