College of Education and Behavioral Sciences News

A holiday tradition presented by WKU’s Dance Company is coming back before a live audience this weekend.

WKU’s Amy Bingham has a preview of WinterDance in this week’s View from the Hill.

This year’s theme is based on a beloved board game that’s been around since 1949. Get ready to be mesmerized by the adventure and characters of Candyland!

“It sounded super fun and family friendly and I know a bunch of kids would love to come see it.”

Candy Cane forest, gumdrop mountain, the possibilities are endless for this year’s WinterDance theme – Candyland.

“As we started going through the board game and seeing all the different characters and different lands that the characters travelled through, it just seemed like a really great idea and fun idea.”

Sophomore Grace Becker has been dancing her whole life.

“I’ve been dancing since I was 2 and I’m 19 now, so 17 years.”

She plans on being a dance instructor after fulfilling her dream of dancing on Broadway.

“I think WinterDance is really gonna help me on that because we get to act and play characters throughout that.”

“We have dances in all the genres that we teach.  So we have classical ballet, we have modern, tap, jazz.  Everybody and everybody’s specialty is highlighted.”

Using game pieces that transition throughout the show, there are plenty of characters who emerge along the way.

“The actual pieces are based on who you see throughout the board game when you move along.”

“We just thought of it as a really fun kind of new story that hasn’t been told before.  The idea of, kind of, the Nutcracker and the land of the sweets and how we could do, kind of, a take on that.”

WinterDance: Candyland Adventures will be performed at 7:30 p.m. Friday and Saturday and 2 p.m. Sunday at Van Meter Hall. Tickets are $16; $12 for students and seniors (62+); and $10 for age 12 and under. For more, visit wku.showare.com