A full house with melodies overflowed Biedenharn Recital Hall on Sept. 16, as campus artists Deborah McClung-Guillory and Coralie White performed in a piano duet. 

The artists were accompanied by none other than the Repertory Dance Ensemble, led by directors and choreographers Robin Stephens and Tina Mullone, as well as special guests Morgan Guillory and Julian Jones who sang three of the popular classics by George Gershwin. 

Areyona Williams, a freshman general business major, said she’s always wanted to hear her professor perform outside of the classroom setting. 

“I wanted to hear Mrs. White play the piano. She plays it in class and I’ve always wanted to come to a piano recital. I really want to learn to play the piano and I think it’s always great to hear someone else play,” Williams said. 

Tiffany Irby, a modern languages major and one of the dancers for this event, said she and the other dancers have been preparing for this event since the second week of the semester. 

“It was something new for me. I’ve never danced in a theatre where you could actually see the people. It was kind of nerve racking, but it was fun,”  Irby said. 

The recital opened with a piece called “I feel within a rain of tears” from the opera Tieteberga ad Guistino by Vivaldi. 

The Repertory Dance Ensemble later accompanied the music in the ‘American Dance Suite’, which consisted of four movements. 

During this piece, the dancers entertained the audience through ballet, dancing a jig, and even miming games of jump rope and hopscotch during a particularly upbeat movement titled “One Morning in May.” 

Along with the popular Gershwin pieces, including “The Man I Love” which was sung by Morgan Guillory, the recital also featured other familiar tunes like “Londonderry Air” and “Amazing Grace.”