BDN advances 2017 International Dance Festival
The Bangor Daily News previewed the University of Maine’s 2017 International Dance Festival scheduled for 2 and 7 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 18 at the Collins Center for the Arts. The 13th annual event showcases an array of traditional music, dance and clothes from around the world that is representative of the diverse student body at UMaine. The free event regularly fills the CCA to capacity twice in one day, according to the article. More than 100 local and statewide performers representing 12 different dance traditions will participate in a nearly two-hour long performance, the article states. Sarah Joughin, senior associate director of international programs at UMaine and one of the lead organizers of the event, said she had no idea the festival would become so popular. “This was all student driven. Students came to me and said they wanted something in the spring semester, to compliment what we do in the fall, which is Culturefest,” Joughin said. “It really was popular right from the get-go. Every year it gets bigger and bigger.” Jodaliza Feliz, a third-year student from New York, will perform a Caribbean-inspired dance piece with a group of fellow students, the BDN reported. “The practice is the best part. Getting close to people. Seeing something go from zero to 100,” Feliz said. “It’s a melting pot of different people. And even after practicing and the show, we stay friends. And it’s just really cool to see what everybody brings to the table. It makes you feel like you’re part of a community.”