UVU’s Ballroom Dance Teams Unite to Put on Their End-of-Semester Concert

The ballroom dance company at Utah Valley University put on their end-of-semester ballroom concert Nov. 23-24 at the Scott and Karen Smith Theater in the Noorda Center for the Performing Arts. UVU’s Ballroom Dance company is comprised of four different teams; Tour, Back-Up Tour, Advanced Back-Up Team and Beginning Back-Up Team.  

The concert lasted  1 hour and 15 minutes and included 22 songs. Two of the dances, which were performed at the beginning and end, included everyone in the company. The other dances reflected what each team learned based on choreography over the course of the semester.  

The concert started out with an all-company number to the song “September” by Earth, Wind, & Fire. Dances performed in the concert varied from Harry Potter to Disney and styles such as waltz to paso doble.  

Chris Witt, director of the Back-Up Team and ballroom program coordinator, said, “The process is different from every routine. At the beginning of each semester, we typically look for music and come up with the choreography for each song we choose.”  

In preparation for the concert, Rene Guzman, a junior going into business marketing on the Back-Up Tour Team, shared that getting ready for the concert involved mental and physical preparation.  

Overall, the concert was a reflection of the choreography that each team learned over the course of the semester.  

“I really enjoyed attending the concert,” said Rachel Paige, an audience member. “I’ve never been to a ballroom concert before, it was a neat experience.”

For anyone wanting to be apart of the magic and unity of the ballroom dance company, auditions for spring semester 2020 are Thursday Jan. 7, 2020 at 7:00 p.m. in the Grande Ballroom of the Sorenson Center.