Courtesy photo of Hub City Dance Collective.

Hub Dance Collective presented its 7th annual fall dance concert series “Re-Connect” at the Southern Miss Theater and Dance Building Sept. 5 and 6.

The concert comprised of Southern Miss faculty with guest artists such as Lauren Guynes and Katherine Moore, according to assistant professor of dance and performer Brianna Jahn. The performances are a contemporary blend of solo work, group improvisations and a series of duet and trio performances. 

“[We are] a collection of artists that have come together to show you how we connect and how we want to connect with the community,” Jahn said.

Established in 2012, the Southern Miss-based dance company, Hub Dance Collective, has become a well-known spot for professional modern dance. The company has toured around the United States to Illinois, Texas, Michigan, New York and Alabama. Made up of four Southern Miss faculty members, the group independently has also performed outside of the United States in countries like Mexico, France and Brazil.

Jahn said most of the collectives dances usually started with improvisational structures with different movements which evolve into the dances that are shown on stage. She also said the music is picked by the audience which gives the collective room to stretch their improvisational wings.

“As people are buying their tickets, they are going to choose which song they want us to dance to that night,” Jahn said. “When we are on stage we won’t know what’s coming on until it’s on.”

Associate professor of dance Kelly Lester said the concert combines both live dance and video performances. The first performance set the stage with Kelly Lester’s ten-year-old piece “Relative Triptych,” which focuses on family dynamics.

“I was psychologically thinking about family dynamics and how they come together and how we have commonalities and also how we frustrate each other in our families,” Lester said.

Not only does Kelly Lester choreograph, but she was also featured in dance pieces such as “Recurrent” – choreographed by Jahn—and the second to last performance “The Third Thing You See.”

“I try to be really present in the moment and enjoy it,” Lester said. “I feel like there is so much of our lives spent thinking forward. What’s the next thing we’re going to do? But for me, really being present in the moment and living it is my main motivator,” Lester said.

“The Third Thing You See” became an apparent crowd-pleaser with its jazzy music and high energy. The dancers smiled as they performed. The piece then ended with a large round of applause. 

The concert ended with the piece “Let This Serve as a Warning” choreographed by director of the school of Performing and Visual Arts Stacy Reischman Fletcher. The performance was lit with overwhelming shades of green and orange. The dancers performed in intense, stop-motion-like movements and left the audience on their feet in applause.