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April 27, 2009

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Choreographers Reflect on Life’s Experiences with
… in my shoes: Spring Dance Concert

Dance Program graduates its first majors this May

WHAT:         … in my shoes: Spring Dance Concert
WHEN:         May 8 and 9, 8 p.m.
WHERE:        University Theatre, California State University, Dominguez Hills
                   1000 E. Victoria St., Carson
COST:           $12 general admission and $10 for students

(Carson, CA) – Choreographers and dancers at California State University, Dominguez Hills will expose audience members to how it feel to dance (not walk) a mile in their shoes at the annual Spring Dance Concert.

… in my shoes: CSUDH Spring Dance Concert will take place on Friday, May 8, and Saturday, May 9, beginning at 8 p.m. in the University Theatre on campus. Put on by the Department of Theatre and Dance, the evening’s concert features the choreography of faculty and upper division students in the new bachelor’s degree option in dance. More than 50 CSUDH students and special guests will perform such dance styles as modern, hip hop, tap, and Middle Eastern dance.

Seven students have choreographed or co-choreographed performance pieces for the concert. They include seniors Delilah Allen, Margaret Hawkins, Kamiko Johnson, Rebecca Ledesma, Jeannette Nailor, Michael Nickerson-Rossi, and Jasmine Wyatt. Choreographed numbers by concert artistic director and dance program coordinator Doris Ressl, and dance program faculty Michelle Funderburk, Elissa Kyriacou and Dana Maue will be performed as well. Funderburk, Maue and Ressl will make a “cameo appearance” in a dance by student Nickerson-Rossi, a professional dancer who in 2008 founded the Long Beach-based Nickerson-Rossi Dance. He is currently completing his bachelor’s degree in dance and plans to continue toward a Master of Fine Arts.

Leanne Vecchione and Julie Aldrich are the evening’s guest performers. Vecchione is a professional dancer, having performed for the Minnesota Ballet, the American National Ballet, and Ressl Dance!. Aldrich received her Bachelor of the Arts in dance with a specialization in performance from the University of California, Irvine. She currently dances with Nickerson-Rossi Dance.

Beginning fall semester 2009, the dance program merged with the theater program becoming the new Department of Theatre and Dance. Prior to the merger, students at CSUDH could only minor in dance. Now they can earn a bachelor’s degree in theatre arts with a dance emphasis. The program requires dance students to take courses in theater as well, to provide a well-rounded arts experience. Theater majors also must take dance classes.  Margaret Hawkins of Carson and Kamiko Johnson of Bellflower will be the first two graduates in the dance option.

Tickets to … in my shoes are $12 for general admission and $10 for students. Tickets can be purchased at the University Theatre Box Office or by calling 310-243-3589.

CSU Dominguez Hills is located at 1000 E. Victoria St. in the city of Carson. The University Theatre is on the west side of campus off Toro Center Drive/Tamcliff Street. Visitor parking is permitted in all campus lots with a valid parking pass. Day passes are $4 and available at the yellow dispensing machines near each lot.

For more information about the dance program or the concert, call (310) 243-3732.

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About CSU Dominguez Hills -- California State University, Dominguez Hills is a highly diverse, urban university located in the South Bay, primarily serving the Los Angeles metropolitan area. The university prides itself on its outstanding faculty and friendly, student-centered environment. Known for excellence in teacher education, nursing, psychology, business administration, and digital media arts, new degree programs include computer science, criminal justice, recreation and leisure studies, social work, and communication disorders. On campus is the Home Depot Center, a multi-purpose sports complex that hosts world-class soccer, tennis, track and field, lacrosse, and cycling.

Media Contact:
Amy Bentley-Smith
(310) 243-2455
abentleysmith@csudh.edu

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