MURFREESBORO, Tenn. — Middle Tennessee State University’s Department of Theatre and Dance will again showcase the power of expressive movement during its upcoming annual Spring Dance Concert.

This year’s performances will be at 7:30 p.m. Thursday-Saturday, April 23-25, at Tucker Theatre inside the Boutwell Dramatic Arts Building at 615 Champion Way. A searchable campus parking map is available at bit.ly/2026parkingmap.

General admission tickets are $10, $7 for senior citizens and $5 for K-12 students. They are available at mtsu.edu/theatreanddance. MTSU students with a current university ID can attend for free. 

The pre-professional company will perform this year’s Spring Dance Concert showcases faculty and guest choreography that explores a range of themes, from playful investigations of movement to the complexities of human relationships, including the tension between authenticity and the often-frustrating expectation to conceal one’s true feelings for the sake of others. 

Director and associate professor Jade Treadwell said the dance theatre concert is a highlight of the semester, featuring professional-caliber performances of artistic excellence.

“The best way to preview an undergraduate arts program like what is offered in the Department of Theatre and Dance is to come out and experience it on the mainstage,” Treadwell said. “Everyone has truly given their all to make the Spring Dance Concert a success, and we’re excited to share it with the public very soon.”

This year’s concert will include assistant professor Jee Ahn’s new work, “Ground in Motion.”

“This piece was developed in collaboration with the dancers and explores how boundaries gradually shift into shared space,” explained Ahn. “Throughout the work, benches become shifting structures that reshape the stage as the dancers navigate distance, interaction, and negotiation, allowing moments of collective play to emerge.”

Additional faculty works include lecturer Alexandra Winer’s “Another (again).”

Winer said the piece demonstrates the frustration of being forced to limit feelings and self-expression as we “wouldn’t want to disrupt the status quo or inconvenience someone with your feelings.”

Coordinator and lecturer Kim Holt’s piece, “Take a Beat,” is a contemporary ballet that is upbeat and playful.

“This dance is inspired by the music and is meant to bring joy and playfulness in a time where chaos and uncertainty are abundant,” Holt said.  

The spring dance concert will also include “Altruist,” a piece by student choreographer Anna Conar.

Conar said the contemporary dance “works through the intricacies of relationships and the fine line between them being healing or harmful.”

For more information on the upcoming Spring Dance Concert, contact the MTSU Dance program at 615-904-8051 or at dance@mtsu.edu.  

— DeAnn Hays (deann.hays@mtsu.edu)