Swissvale Student Featured in Pitt Dance Show

Swissvale resident Angela Byrd, a dance minor at the University of Pittsburgh, is performing and working backstage in the student dance ensemble production of “Kinetix” tonight and Friday.

Dancing since the age of four, Byrd attended the Wilson Dance Academy and CCOP Fine Arts Academy, both located in Wilkinsburg. Byrd is dancing in a lyrical trio to Kelly Price’s, "Tired," choreographed by junior Cayla Turner. This is Byrd’s first year dancing with the ensemble.

The performances are at 7 p.m. in the Trees Hall dance studio on the University of Pittsburgh Oakland (main) campus. Tickets are $3 and serve as a door donation for the ensemble. Parking will be available in the OC lot located next to Trees Hall.

The dance ensemble has been a performance group on the Pitt campus since 1954. It is a student group dedicated to the performance of artistic dance and regularly performs on the University of Pittsburgh campus. Talented students of the university come together to learn develop and showcase their talents. Susan Gillis Kruman is the advisor to the group and is a faculty member of the School of Education.

Due to the informality of the fall showcase, many of the dances that you will see in “Kinetix” are a mixture of completed and ‘in progress’ numbers. Nonetheless, the student dancers and choreographers work extremely hard to put the show together. 

This year the university’s Pitt Ballet Cub will perform along with demonstrations from the dance ensemble and the ballroom dance class. The audience is encouraged to speak with choreographers following the showcase about their works.