Dance group to perform

• Dance

Submitted Photo The Eisenhower Dance Ensemble will perform at 7:30 p.m. Saturday at Memorial Auditorium Performing Arts Center.

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WORTHINGTON — The Eisenhower Dance Ensemble, a contemporary dance company, will perform to the music of Smokey Robinson, Neil Young, Van Morrison, Tom Waits and Cyndi Lauper, starting at 7:30 p.m. Saturday at Memorial Auditorium Performing Arts Center.

“Whether they’re dance aficionados or have never seen dance … all this is a great way to introduce people to dance,” said auditorium manager Margaret Hurlbut Vosburgh. “It really is a family performance.”

The Eisenhower Dance Ensemble showcases both young artists and established choreographers, and has danced all over the world for 20 years.

The ensemble participated in a week-long residency program at Worthington Middle School in February, speaking about to students about health-related topics.

The residency and its educational component was one of the major reasons the Eisenhower Dance Ensemble was asked to perform in Worthington.

The residency was sponsored by the Friends of the Auditorium, the Worthington Regional Health Care Foundation, Inc., and a grant from the Southwest Minnesota Arts and Humanities Council.

Though modern dancers — whose style originated in the early 20th century — have performed at the auditorium before, this is first contemporary group to dance at the auditorium, Vosburgh said.

Also in February, the dancers choreographed a routine they will perform Saturday with students in the Kay Williams Prunty Dance Academy.

“I saw them work at Kay’s studio. They’re fabulous dancers,” Vosburgh said. “This is another way for the community to have an opportunity to see something they might never see (without traveling to the Twin Cities).”

Tickets are available at the door starting at 7 p.m. Saturday, and the box office is also open from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. today.

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