Catawba College's Danceworks this year features 11 original dances choreographed by students. There is a wide variety of music and dance styles to be enjoyed, including tap, jazz, ballet, and contemporary dance forms. Performances are at 7:30 p.m. Friday, April 27, and Saturday, April 28 in Keppel Auditorium.

by Len Clark for SalisburyPost.com - Are You Lonesome Tonight? Well put on your Blue Suede Shoes and Surrender yourself to an evening chronicling the era and honoring the influence of the King of Rock 'n' Roll. If you don't laugh you have a Wooden Heart.

By Katie Higgins, Catawba College Student - Catawba College's production of the musical, "Huck Finn," will pay tribute to "Mr. Music" of Salisbury, 94-year-old Billy Burke, a college alumnus. The musical, based on Mark Twain's classic, "The Tales of Huckleberry Finn," will be performed in Keppel Auditorium at 7:30 p.m. Thursday, April 19 through Saturday, April 21, and at 2:30 p.m. Sunday, April 22. The April 22 matinee will be presented by the Rowan County Concert Association.

When Robin Tynes wakes up, the music filters in immediately. It's with her as she walks between classes at Catawba College or hangs out at the student center. Every evening, she can't wait for another "Huck Finn" rehearsal and a chance to sing and hear the music again. Billy Burke composed the songs running through Tynes' head, as she prepares to play the lead role of Huck Finn in a musical comedy first produced on the campus in 1955, then again in 1958.

"The Facts: On October 6, 1998, a gay University of Wyoming student, Matthew Shepard, left the Fireside Bar with Aaron McKinney and Russell Henderson. The following day, he was discovered at the edge of town. He was tied to a fence, brutally beaten, and close to death." (Kaufman et al). This is a quote from the opening lines of "The Laramie Project: Ten Years Later" to be offered by the Catawba College Theatre Arts Department March 20-24 in the Florence Busby Corriher Theatre on campus.

by Katie Scarvey, SalisburyPost.com - Three cheers for ignorance. An early historian and participant of Piedmont Players Theatre, Betty Anne Stanback wrote in a history of the group that the organizers of PPT back in 1961 were "blissful" in their ignorance — unaware of what challenges lay ahead.

Two faculty emeriti from Catawba College's Theatre Arts Department were honored Feb. 20 with a facility on campus named in their honor. College President, Dr. Joseph B. Oxendine, recognized Dr. Hoyt M. McCachren, Jr. and Dr. James R. Epperson during a dinner on campus. He unveiled a bronze plaque and announced that the McCachren-Epperson Theatre Arts Office Facility is being named in their honor.

By Catawba alummnus Reid Leonard, For The Salisbury Post - As I write this, a production of "Cyrano de Bergerac" is playing in the Meroney Theater and "Honk, Jr" opens Friday night in the Norvell Theater and auditions are in two weeks for the musical "Company."

When 1981 alumnus Richard Steinert came back to Catawba in February, he shared more than just some dance techniques. He shared some of his life experiences with students and gave them insights into his long and successful career as a dancer, a choreographer and an artistic director at some of the country's premier ballet companies.

When Independence High School's production of "Grease" opens next weekend, drama teacher Paula Baldwin will have come full circle. Baldwin got her start in acting at Mount Pleasant High School in Cabarrus County, and attended Catawba College on a drama scholarship. After earning her MFA in acting and directing at UNC Greensboro, she headed to New York City, where she lived and worked for eight years.