MUNCIE, Ind.-Ball State University's dance program will return to the famed Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C., in May to perform an Isadora Duncan work in a national showcase.

A group of Ball State dance students has been selected to open the Celebration of College and University Dance, which will feature 12 dance programs from across the country in three nights of performances May 13-15.

Eight students will present Duncan's "Varshavianka," a moving piece from 1921 that the modern dance pioneer dedicated to the victims of the 1906 "Bloody Sunday" massacre in St. Petersburg, Russia.

The performance will be shown live online at www.kennedy-center.org/millennium beginning at 6 p.m. Eastern time on May 13. The broadcast requires RealPlayer.

"It's quite an honor and a big step for the dance program," said dance professor Katie Teuchtler, who has worked with the students on the Duncan piece. "Performing at the Kennedy Center is a tremendous honor for our students. It's an experience they will never forget."

The students also staged "Varshavianka" in Ball State's Festival of Dance 2002 production on campus this spring.

Work on Duncan's choreography began last year, when Ball State became one of only 51 dance programs nationwide-and the only one in Indiana-to receive Dance USA grants through the National College Choreography Initiative. The initiative gives students an opportunity to learn classic American dances of the past century and new works from acclaimed artists.

Under Teuchtler's direction, Ball State's grant project involved learning Duncan's legendary dance technique and repertory from Lori Belilove and Jennifer Sprowl of the Isadora Duncan Dance Foundation in New York.

The project culminated in a series of lecture/performances with Belilove as guest artist in residence on campus in February.

The presentations were documented by Ball State's public television station, WIPB Channel 49, and will be aired on the "Front Row Center" program at 8 p.m. May 23.
In March the Dance USA grant recipients were encouraged to apply to perform at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, and 22 programs submitted materials. Twelve works were selected for the Celebration of College and University Dance based on artistic merit.

Other works chosen for the showcase reflect the talents of noted choreographers ranging from Antony Tudor and Charles Weidman to Jose Limon, David Parsons and Bill Evans.

The event marks the second time in five years that Ball State's dance program has been invited to perform at the Kennedy Center. Students staged Alan Sener's "Ancora Insieme" in the 1998 National College Dance Festival.

For this year's trip, the students are conducting several local fund-raisers to help them cover their travel expenses. Other donations may be made through the Ball State University Foundation's Kennedy Center Trip Account 8308.

(Note to Editors: For more information on this story, contact Katie Teuchtler at (765) 285-8331 or kteuchtl@bsu.edu.)