Clockwise from left, current and former graduate students Sean Spillane, Dave Michalak, Robert Strittmatter, Julie Liu, Sarah Heilshorn, and Cecily Ryan perform a pole dance, one of the featured pieces in the upcoming show.

Dance show a first on campus

Caltech’s first-ever all-campus dance show will premiere at Ramo Auditorium on Friday, March 12, and Saturday, March 13. Featuring a dozen performances that represent the wide variety of cultures on campus, the program will begin at 8 p.m. and is open to the public. A donation of $2 is suggested.

“We’ve got a very diverse program, ranging from belly dancing to hula to salsa to jazz,” says Julie Liu, a graduate student in chemical engineering who is coordinating the show with undergrad Robin Deis ’04 and graduate student in chemistry Catharine Larsen.

“A lot of different groups on campus have been working hard on pieces to contribute, and I think the show will be very exciting and fun to watch. We hope that this will become an annual event at Caltech.”

Liu, Deis, and Larsen are members of the Caltech Dance Troupe, a fairly recent arrival on campus whose goal is to broaden interest in dance classes and performances. The group offers a variety of classes, nearly all of which are open to the Caltech community, and many of which are free or cost a minimal amount.

According to Liu, several troupe members have participated in past shows sponsored by the USC dance program, and were inspired to hold one of their own. “Because there are a lot of different dance groups on campus, we thought it would be great to put together a show consisting of members of the Caltech community,” she says. “We hope that the show will raise the visibility of dance on campus and that others will share our enthusiasm for dance.”

The event is sponsored by the Caltech Dance Troupe, Moore-Hufstedler Fund, Graduate Student Council, and Campus Life and Graduate Housing offices. For more information, e-mail troupe@caltech.edu.
•