Dance department to celebrate fifteenth anniversary with concert

The dance department’s 15th anniversary concert will be held next month in celebration of their time at Eastern.

According to Dr. Karen Clemente, the upcoming concert will feature ten works by current Eastern students, four by faculty members, and some others by alumni, who will also be dancing.

The dance department has come a long way since its humble beginnings fifteen years ago.

When Clemente came to Eastern in 1990, there were no dance courses offered. Since then, the department has expanded considerably, offering a minor in 1995 and a major in 2003.

According to Dr. Joselli Deans, there are eight dance majors and about 20 minors this year.

The inspiration of the students has been the driving force behind this growth, Clemente said.

“I really am inspired by what the students believed could happen,” she said.

Deans and Clemente have themselves served as inspirations to the students.

“Drs. Clemente and Deans are two very amazing people,” said senior Taryn Heisler, who has been taking dance classes since she was a first-year. “I’ve grown so much because of the two of them, not only in dancing, but in my spiritual walk as well.”

Clemente said that she and Deans encourage their students to “look at their life issues and how those resonate with their faith journey and how dance reflects their faith journey. We encourage students to integrate their lives with their dances.”

The concert is scheduled to take place on April 29 and 30 in the McInnis Auditorium. The cost will be $6 for general admission and $3 for Eastern students.