Students stage final project today

After completing their auditions at the beginning of the semester to just get into the class, the dance students now get to show off their skills by performing their own choreographed dances, said Iris Rosa, the dance company's director and associate professor in the IU Department of African American and African Diaspora Studies.\n"My expectations are always a good show," said Rosa, who will grade the performances. "I can be very demanding for the purpose of having high quality." \nThe theme for the whole performance is "Human Revolution ... Soul."\nThe choreography is a fusion of dance styles, Rosa said. \n"In one dance you might see some ballet and some modern dance," she said.\nMeghan McGuire, the associate instructor for the class, said she will perform a solo to the song, "Message to Tomorrow." The dance will be very ballet-oriented but will incorporate other styles as well, McGuire said.\nShe said working with different abilities and "combining different dance styles and making them flow together" was challenging.\nGraduate student Timberly Carter agreed it was difficult developing "what we were trying to display and how we were going to display each other's talent."\nCarter said it was difficult for her group members to pull together the different parts of the dance for their theme "United by Famine." Her group will perform to "The Famine Song" by Vida. Carter's group's costumes will be very plain to convey that idea. \nCarter said the routine will include step dancing, which she did with her sorority when she was an undergraduate. \n"I would encourage everyone to come, to try something new on campus," she said. "It's definitely a variety show." \nIn addition to the African American Dance Company, a special guest, the Kenyetta Dance Company, will perform. Some of the music for the performances will include a vocalist, a percussionist and a percussion ensemble.\nRosa, who has seen parts of the pieces, said she is very excited for the Wilkie performance. \n"They are very inspiring," she said. "It's not easy. Dance isn't something you can go home and do like a paper. (The students) are preparing and polishing for a public performance." \nCarter also said preparing for the collaborations required a lot of work outside of class. Despite all the work, though, she said it was a lot of fun.\nOn Saturday, with two more rehearsals scheduled, Carter said she felt confident about her group's performance. \n"I'm looking forward to (seeing) each other's collaborations," she said. "I think everyone is going to do a good job. Everyone is very creative, and we work well together"