Arts & Entertainment

UH Twisted to perform 'A New Era'

By Erin Scoggan
The Daily Cougar

Society has given birth to a phenomenal new dance form. Found in urban areas, this moving art has many variants: hip-hop, reggae, pop, funk, dance hall, African and freestyle. Some will try to separate these dance forms, but Twisted Elegance fuses them together in an innocent yet mischievous way.

UHis Twisted Elegance urban dance group was founded by director/choreographer LaiCrystal Washington, jazz coordinator Kim Oriahi and assistant choreographer Sharifa Glass.

The groupis name comes from a phrase originally coined by Janet Jackson. Twisted Elegance was formed primarily "to allow students to immerse themselves in all aspects of the urban dance culture."

The group was recognized as an official UH student organization in August 2002 and has been grooving ever since. Twisted Elegance has been invited to perform at many UH campus events both alone and with other student organizations.

The group has been honored with a first place award in the Small Group Dance/Skit category and with the Overall Grand Prize at Strut Your Stuff, the Homecoming talent show, as well as second place in the Council of Ethnic Organization's Talent Explosion. 

Tonight, Twisted Elegance will host the dance showcase "A New Era." The performance is free and will take place in the Cullen Performance Hall at 6:30 p.m. Guests will get to see performances from other University dance groups and dance studios in addition to Twisted Elegance.

For more information on Twisted Elegance, visit www.uh.edu/tedance/.

 Send comments to dcshobiz@mail.uh.edu