Trip the light fantastic

  ¦  WM. SRITE/Missourian

As their routine reaches a crescendo, the dance students of Stephens College float blissfully through the air, appearing to defy the principles of gravity without effort. The close observer, however, will notice the their breath quickening as they pirouette, leap gracefully and dance gracefully.

The performers at the Annual Spring Concert rehearsal at Stephens College on March 3 move along a stage sticky with a layer of rosin. The flat hard noses of their slippers squeak, but hold firm against the pressure of the women’s bodies. Their costumes flutter through the air like wings that propel their forms, blurring into one mass moving across the stage in unison.