Salt Lake Community College’s Dance Company will be performing its annual fall concert Nov. 22 and 23 at the Grand Theatre.
“We’ve been practicing for six hours a week, every week,” says Quinn Trutzel, who is in her first semester with the Dance Company.
SLCC Dance Company performs mostly contemporary, modern and jazz dance routines. Throughout their time in the group, student members work with professional dancers in the community while pursuing excellence in their craft.
“Dancers are artists with a responsibility to tell stories as well as rewrite narratives,” says Whitney Harris, the director of SLCC Dance Company. “On stage, our dancers do this through their choreography.”
Trutzel echoes this sentiment, speaking about the art form as a means of expressing the human experience.
“Dance is unique in that it tends to be more abstract than other forms, lending to a greater range of interpretations,” she says.
SLCC Dance Company members also engage with the community through other performances throughout the semester, including Operation Pay It Forward, an event created by non-profit organization Chemo to Crown to raise awareness and money for children with terminal illnesses; High School Day, an event where the SLCC Dance Company teaches and mentors youth about the value of education and the arts; and Art with Heart, a benefit concert where all event proceeds are donated to Shriners Hospital.
“This year, we have been offering master classes and high school workshops in order for us to show [students] what SLCC Dance Company is about and to expand our name further,” says Carlos Mieja, the publicity officer for SLCC Dance Company.
Mieja encourages students to attend a class or performance and see the SLCC Dance Company in action.
“SLCC Dance Company is not just about putting on a show for people. It is about helping the community with projects and building lasting relationships,” he says.
The concert will start at 7 p.m. and is free for SLCC students and staff with a college ID and a food donation. Tickets are $5 for general admission.
