HANCEVILLE – If you walk into the Burrow Center for the Fine and Performing Arts these days, there’s a good chance you’re going to hear the Wallace State Jazz Band practicing for its upcoming Big Band Ballroom Dance. Strains of Duke Ellington, Louis Armstrong, Benny Goodman and Glenn Miller filter through the building each morning as the band rehearses their set list.
“The Big Band Ballroom Dance is something a lot of people look forward to each year,” said Ricky Burks, the band’s director and head of the Wallace State Fine and Performing Arts program at Wallace State. “We have dancers and music lovers from around the region who join us each year. We look forward to seeing them and some new faces each year.”
The dance will be held on Friday, April 15, in the atrium of the Burrow Center for the Fine and Performing Arts. The band sets up at one end of the atrium, leaving room for a dance floor right in front of the band. A second dance space is open in the Burrow Center’s choreography room when the main dance floor gets crowded.
“It’s fun to see all of the dancers who turn out for our event,” Burks added. “We have a wide age range of dancers who take to the floor, from teenagers, to our own students, to veteran dancers who could show the rest a thing or two.”
Along with the music and dancing, there will be light refreshments. Admission is a $15 donation. There is no formal dress code, Burks said. The band will play two one-hour sets, with a break in between.
To reserve seats for the dance, contact Stefany Pate at 256.352.8277 or stefany.pate@wallacestate.edu.
For more information about Wallace State, visit www.wallacestate.edu.
