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Kensie's 15 minutes of fame.......

Dancers from left, Caroline Boyden, 7, Kensie Holbrook, 7, and Henna Inoway-Yim, 8, demonstrate the piece "Innocence." (Jim Urquhart/The Salt Lake Tribune)

If most dances tell a story, then the Children's Dance Theatre's anniversary concert is recounting a 60-year legacy.

Roots and wings are recurring themes throughout the Children's Dance Theatre training, aimed at inspiring its young dancers to stay grounded in the discipline of dance while helping to realize their dreams, said Tanner Dance director Mary Ann Lee.

Those themes inspired "Coming Home: Celebrating Our Roots, Strengthening Our Wings," the Children's Dance Theatre's Feb. 27-28 concert, which marks the 60th anniversary of the University of Utah's Virginia Tanner Dance Program. "We wanted to show the idea that the power of the mission is the reason the program is around now," said Lee, who took over as director of the program in 1979 after founder Virginia Tanner passed away.

On the bill are 13 short dances performed by the 300 students in the company ranging from 8-18, who helped develop the choreography with their teachers. One of the dances, "Innocence" by Tad Simonson, Francesca Sternfeld and the CDT second-grade class, is a whimsical piece inspired by a big, puffy, marshmallowlike gown Tanner made in the company's infancy....

By Alicia Greenleigh
The Salt Lake Tribune

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