The UTM Dance Ensemble Performance Class, led by teacher Claudia Morris, are currently preparing for their performance before Spring break at the Vanguard Theater within the Fine Arts building on March 9 and 10, 2005. “It is a required course mostly for majors,” said teacher Claudia Morris. In order to be in the class, the students must be capable of learning and creating choreography. They must have experience in dance.”

The class meets all year, preparing for this event. When asked if she was pleased with the class, Morris said, “I am very impressed and pleased with their accomplishments.”

“In the spring, we are also collaborating with Leslie LaChance’s poetry class,” Morris said regarding future performance plans for the group. “The project will be to interpret the poetry through dance. In April, the ensemble has been asked to do liturgical dancing at First Methodist Church here in Martin. Len Solomon has asked us to do it. She is very active in the church and in helping to form the group.”

Morris explained that an important factor this year was that three of the students will be the first to receive a new degree in Dance Certification, a degree unique in Tennessee , offered through the Department of Visual and Theater Arts at UTM.

For their spring performance, the group is preparing a Spanish piece by Leonard Cohen, which has ethnic Jewish undertones supported by Matisse paintings projected on the backdrop behind the dancers. The ensemble is also preparing a piece within which they developed and implemented their own choreography. “It is Modern Dance in genre with elements of tap, jazz and ballet,” Morris said. “It is representative of their generation and about the struggle between whether or not to conform to society and peers. It’s easier to conform. By being an individual, they risk failure and being exploited. It’s riskier to be an individual. The students came up with the idea on their own. I’m very proud of them for thinking like artists. Students are creating based on their own issues about where they are in life right now. It is something they feel strongly about.”

When asked if Morris had anything else to add, she said, “They are learning to dance inside the music by feeling an impulse and translating that impulse through the music. That in itself is a lot of work.”

Ethan Pullman, a guest artist, will be helping with the Spanish piece. They will be mixing Flamenco and Latin Ballroom dancing. Pullman is also planning to teach two master classes while he is in town. Salsa, Merengue, and Cha Cha will be among the featured dances. The master classes, scheduled will be held in the Elam dance studio and are scheduled for Sunday March 6 at 4:00 p.m. and Monday March 7 at 5:30 p.m. and will be open to the campus and community.