Southern Miss Repertory Dance Company Presents Two Fall Concerts

Mon, 10/19/2026 - 01:43pm | By: Mike Lopinto

The University of Southern Mississippi Repertory Dance Company will bring movement, imagination and original choreography to the stage this fall with two concert experiences featuring works created by faculty and junior and senior dance majors.

“Fall in Motion” will be presented Oct. 29-30 at 7 p.m. and Oct. 31 at 2:30 p.m. in Studio 115 of the Theatre and Dance Building. Doors open 30 minutes before each performance. The season continues with “Fall Evening of Dance,” Nov. 13-14 at 7 p.m. on the Thomas V. Fraschillo Stage in the Mannoni Performing Arts Center Auditorium. Tickets are available online.

Part of Southern Miss’ highly regarded dance program, the Repertory Dance Company gives emerging professionals the opportunity to develop their artistry through an intensive auditioned company experience. Both fall concerts feature new works created on company members by guest artist Alvon Reed, dance faculty, and student choreographers, offering audiences a range of styles, ideas and perspectives.

For the student choreographers, the process is as much about discovery as performance.

Dance student Ja’Kiran Collins of Jackson, Miss. explores frustration, vulnerability and resilience in “Through the Fog of the Mind,” set to Michael Wall’s Maquina de Humo.

“Frustration can create helplessness, anxiety and loneliness, but it can also force us to develop creative solutions,” Collins said. “I want audiences to experience that tension and release through the dancers and connect it to their own lives.”

Megan Johnston’s “A Sudden Comprehension,” set to Philip Glass’ The Poet Acts from The Hours, examines what happens when people allow others to help carry life’s difficulties.

“My hope is to show that leaning on the people we love during difficult times is not only okay, but necessary,” Johnston said. “Being part of Repertory Dance Company feels like being part of one big family. The support I have received here has helped me find my own artistry and has truly changed me as a person.”

For Hannah Ard, a junior dance education major from New Albany, Miss., choreography became an opportunity to celebrate the simple joy of movement. Her work, “To Move, To Feel,” combines contemporary ballet and modern dance and is set to Philip Glass’ Etude No. 2, performed by Shani Diluka.

“My piece explores the joy that dancing and performing gives dancers and how we can share that with an audience,” Ard said. “Joining the Southern Miss dance program has been a dream come true. I have learned how to become not only a stronger performer, but a better educator and friend.”

Together, the concerts reflect the creative work taking place throughout the dance program and the many ways movement can communicate beyond words. Through performance and choreography, students are encouraged to take risks, develop their individual voices and discover how dance can challenge, connect and even heal.

Performance Details

Fall in Motion
Oct. 29-30 | 7 p.m. | Doors open at 6:30 p.m.
Oct. 31 | 2:30 p.m. | Doors open at 2 p.m.
Studio 115, Theatre and Dance Building

Evening of Dance
Nov. 13-14 | 7 p.m.
Thomas V. Fraschillo Stage
Mannoni Performing Arts Center Auditorium

The concerts are sponsored by the Mr. and Mrs. James Simrall Jr. Arts Endowment and the Robert N. Kinnaird Jr. and Lucille Ehlers Kinnaird Memorial.

Tickets are available here. 

For additional information, call 601.266.6451.

School of Performing and Visual Arts
The School of Performing and Visual Arts at The University of Southern Mississippi brings together Art and Design, Dance and Theatre in a vibrant community of artists, performers, designers, scholars and educators. Part of the College of Arts and Sciences, the school is home to nationally recognized programs. Its distinguished faculty are professionals whose work extends across the country and around the world, bringing that expertise into the classroom and giving students opportunities to grow creatively. Through productions, performances, exhibitions, studio practice and collaborative projects, students develop their artistic voices and prepare for careers in the arts. The school’s theatres, studios, galleries and Museum of Art provide spaces for students and faculty to perform, exhibit and share their work with the Southern Miss community and beyond.