Dance into weekend celebrating 'Family Ties'

Arizona Daily Wildcat Photo courtesy of UA Dance Division Nannette Sheets and Emily Angelle perform in "Sabor a Mi!," a mix of traditional Argentine tango and ultra-contemporary jazz. The performance wil open up tonight's Family Weekend "Family Ties"concert at Ina Gittings Dance Theater at 5:30.

The UA Dance Ensemble has a solution.

The dance division of the University of Arizona is providing its annual Family Weekend concert, "Family Ties," tonight at 5:30. The UA Dance Ensemble performance integrates ballet, jazz and modern music.

The ensemble has performed for several years in the Jazz Dance Congress, an invitation-only event, in exotic locales including Chicago, Japan and Washington, D.C.

Last summer the UA Dance Ensemble was the only university dance program from the United States to get invited to participate in the International Theater School Festival held in Amsterdam.

The "Family Ties" program opens up with "Sabor a Mi!," a spicy and lively traditional Argentine tango. This contemporary jazz piece, relying on its intrinsic passion and control, is choreographed by Susan Quinn.

How many of us remember our first romance, those tingly feelings we felt in the bottoms of our stomachs? Nina Janik recreates those romantic emotions in a piece called "The Kissing Waltz."

"More than puppy love, but less than Richard Burton and Elizabeth Taylor," adds Jory Hancock, the head of the UA Dance Division. This humorous look at romance will be performed to a piano score performed live by Suzanne Knosp.

This year's guest choreographer is Walter Kennedy, bringing along his award winning piece, "Fault Boundaries."

The performance will come to a close with the very emphatic and upbeat jazz piece "Pockets," choreographed by Michael Williams. This piece is colorful, the costumes are unique and the choreography is intimate.

In addition to the magical dance performance, there will be a lecture demonstration about the rigorous ballet training the students must go through as part of the triple track program, which includes ballet, modern dance and jazz.

The "Family Ties Dance Concert" takes place in the Ina Gittings Dance Theater. Admission is $8 for non-students and $6 for students and seniors. Tickets are available at the door. For further information call 621-4698.