During rehearsal ahead of the first show of the “University Dance Company: Dance Site Fall 2019” performance series, Mikayla McGhee freed her fellow dancers from the drab confines of their black leotards.

During the piece the dancers are in-character as sex workers, dealing with the stigma of the profession. McGhee then unfurled a piece of her costume to reveal a billowing red dress, lending the routine color, an act that symbolized the decriminalization of sex work.

Behind her, the dark stage became backlit with a blue screen and the dancers moved through the spotlights in a free-flowing whirlwind of color and motion.