After , the artistically-talented students at kept things going with their dance concert on Thursday night.
Under the direction of St. Joe dance instructor Nicki Tallent, the ladies of St. Joe performed to both classic pieces and newer songs by popular artists such as Alicia Keys and Lady Gaga, with the style of dance ranging from ballet to jazz to modern.
This semester, Tallent received the assistance of Dawn Karlovsky, who was an artist-in-residence with the Dance III class at St. Joe.
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"One of my goals for the dance program at St. Joe’s is to establish a concert-based dance program, meaning the focus is on dance as an artform as a means of expression, instead of the focus being on competition and/or entertainment, like a dance team," Tallent said. "Dawn and I have danced together for over seven years; I knew that her experience teaching modern dance at both Webster University and Washington University would underline my efforts with the dance program and expose the students to a new experience of dance that is different from their studios and more like what they might expect at a university dance program."
Karlovsky met with the students once a week during the semester. Financial assistance for the artist-in-residency project was provided by the Missouri Arts Council and the National Endowment for the Arts.
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Karlovsky's residency seemed to pay off, as "Passing Through," the performance she choreographed, was a crowd favorite on Thursday night. The performance was very intricate, including one interlude where all eight of the dancers were each doing different moves.
Student choreographers Cass Muenks, Haley Schneider, Elise Wunderlich, Tatum Van Dam, Emily O'Hanlon, Mady Blyer and Sarah Trigg also helped get the night's performances together.
"My favorite performances were 'Enchanted Woods' and 'Passion,' both of which I choreographed," said Muenks. "I think the concert went really well."
Everyone seemed to be in agreement with Muenks on her last point, including fellow students, Tallent and parents.
"It was great," said Marla Esser, adding a bit of sadness in remarking that this was the last dance performance her daughter Nicole, a senior, would participate in at St. Joe.