The ULM Dance Repertory Ensemble gave the audience something to talk about Friday night at the Fall 2016 Dance Fusion.

e entire show was choreographed by dance instructors Robin Stephens, Tina Mullone and Gretchen Jones. Stephens and Mullone presented a small commentary between each of the dances.

The event started with a show- stopping opener that focused on some of our country’s most pressing issues such as police brutality and racial inequality.

The first modern dance number, “A Seat at the Table,” was choreographed by Mullone and included the entire dance company.

It was sophomore Emmanuel Capers’ favorite part of the show.

“It was something different and very expressive,” said Capers, a vo- cal music education major. “Every- one could interpret it differently.”

e performers danced to sound bites of political and social dis- course edited together by Dr. Mel Mobley.

It included words from Donald Trump, Hillary Clinton, Martin Luther King, Jr., various Black Lives Matter advocates and the song “I Got the New World in My View” by Sister Gertrude Morgan.

The powerful, thought-provoking piece that had every audience member transfixed and mesmerized.

After the opener, the rest of the show took on a jazzy, show-biz tone.

The second piece, “Blue Study #1,” is a song by jazz musician David Brubeck that featured a dance trio including students DeAntonia Jackson, DJ Turner and Whitney Johnson all dressed in blue.

Johnson, a senior pre-pharmacy major, said this piece was the most di cult for her to perform because it required a great deal of endurance.

The next number was sophomore history major Gray Hall’s favorite to perform because “it was something

fresh and great.” e full company, donning bow ties and coattails, tap danced to “Puttin’ on the Ritz,” a lively song from the swing era.

e number that ultimately got the biggest response from the audience was taken from the Broadway musical “Pippin.”
is striking routine, “Magic to Do,” featured senior Cory Thaxton in a dance solo.

One hat trick transition later, and the entire ensemble was on the stage again, wearing white top hats and their best Broadway smiles to finish up the crowd-pleasing number.

“Rich Man’s Frug,” the next piece, was a fun, 60’s-style song that had

the dancers in white suit jackets and glitzy cocktail dresses.

It was also Johnson’s favorite piece to perform because she said it was “very fun and laid-back.” is number also featured a trio that included Thaxton, Turner and Kali Carman.

The last performance of the show was a full company dance to the song “Cool” from “West Side Story.”

The ensemble moved in a way that was like Broadway infused with ballet.

It was the perfect ending to an exceptional dance-filled evening.