Dancing through the fall

The Meadows School of the Arts Fall Dance Concert Series begins its annual Hope Show titled Simply Marvelous from Nov. 13 through Nov. 17 in Bob Hope Theatre.

Unlike Brown Bag, Hope Show uses original works of professional choreographers rather than Meadows dance students.

Wednesday night offered a free performance of the dance concert for students and the SMU community.

"This is the first Hope Show I've been too and I didn't know what to expect," Tyeson Seale said, a sophomore cinema-television major. "The dancers performances really held my interest."

The concert opens with an original ballet choreographed by Alvin Ailey, a Texas native and founder of the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater in New York.

After the ballet, a dramatic duo performs "The Beloved" written by Lester Horton.

"I've always wanted to perform a Lester Horton piece," said "Beloved" performer and sophomore dance major Brandon Perry-Russell.

"The entire show has more variety than last years', and really explores all of the [dance] department's talents," Perry-Russell said.

Pas De Cinq (from Sleeping Beauty), a ballet by Marius Petipa, follows "Beloved" with an upbeat tone and "The Bodyography," choreographed by Max Stone, concludes the concert in a flare of rhythm and movement.

First-year dancer Cristofer Cangero, who dances in the most modern of the four pieces, said this was more of a challenge than Brown Bag.

"The rehearsals have been long, but have definitely paid off," Cangero said. "It's great to just get up there and perform."

Show times are 8 p.m. Thursday through Saturday and 2 p.m. Sunday. Tickets are $12 for adults, $9 for senior citizens and $6 for SMU students. For more information contact the Meadows Ticket Office at (214) 768-2787.