Rehearsals for this year’s “Dance Sites” concert are underway as the University Dance Company prepares to showcase student and faculty talents at the University Theatre in Shasta Hall from Dec. 7 to 11.

Every year at the end of the fall semester, members of UDC perform modern western dances, as well as some dances from other cultures around the world, as part of their main stage concert experience.

“For the past 11 years, I have been directing the concert, along with (Linda) Goodrich, and professor (Philip) Flickinger,” said UCD director Lorelei Bayne, who is also the vice chairman of the Department of Theatre and Dance.

Bayne said this year’s concert centers around the One World Initiative theme of “global perspective on inheritance.”

The show will feature an interpretation of Mexican dance pioneer Jose Limon’s masterwork, “A Choreographic Offering” — a piece to be performed by special guest Gary Masters.

“My professors brought a Jose Limon work to our campus which I performed in,” Bayne said.  “So it’s kind of like I inherited it and passed it on to my students”.

UCD assistant director Philip Flickinger said that the show is a way to honor the tradition of American dance concerts that have been so vibrant and diverse.

This year’s concert will be the first to expose students, faculty, staff and the audience to masterful choreographies of past and current legends in the industry.

“(Although) our program is rooted in western concert dances, here at Sacramento State, we have a world perspective,” Flickinger said of how the show reflects the university’s strong diverse reputation.

For Flickinger, the production was designed to mimic experiences of any professional dance company in the world —where all performers, directors and backstage crews work closely together.

“What we wanted to do was start to create a company experience for our dancers who are performing with the faculty members,” Flickinger said. “It’s a chance to observe up close and personal what the dance faculty members are researching, which is a pretty unique experience.”

Each year, UCD collaborates with a student from the film program to create a short documentary about the choreographed pieces and their process of bringing the visions to the main stage during show nights.

“This gives you an insider perspective on how dance is created, how rehearsals are run, and what the process is like,” Flickinger said.  “Because many people just see the final product and assume that that’s something that comes very easily, which is not really the case in the dance world. We spend a lot of time creating and a lot of time investigating movements.”