Hattiesburg, MISS– The Mississippi Dance Festival is a rigorous training time for students 7th-12th grade, but it also shows that dance can be part of any school curriculum.
The Mississippi Dance Festival is a time for training young dancers and celebrating what they have learned. The dancers, ranging from 7th to 12th grade get a chance to strut their stuff in concert, but also learn from the best the Southern Miss Dance program has to offer.
“While the students are learning jazz or modern dance, their dance teachers will learn how to integrate dance into their curriculum,” says Dr. Elizabeth Lentz-Hill, Associate Professor of Dance at USM and co-founder of the festival.
The students that are participating in the festival aren’t just privately trained dancers.
“Most of these students take dance as part of their regular school day,” says Dr. Lentz-Hill.
“We recognize that dance education always needs strong advocacy efforts,” says Dr. Julia White, co-founder of the festival,”it is a body of knowledge worth supporting.”
Dr. Lentz-Hill and Dr. White agree that dance is not only about movement, but creativity and teamwork, which your kid will also learn in school.
The students will all participate in non-competitive, rigorous workshops centered around jazz, modern, and classical styles of dance. They’ll be performing for the public Saturday, September 6, at 7pm.
