By Gabrielle Terrett

The Vicksburg Post

Dance Teachers United (DTU) is hosting an event at the Vicksburg Convention Center this weekend.

The three-day event will consist of a competition, a master class and vendors. It is expected to bring in 85 dance groups and an audience of 700 dancers and dance teachers.

The dance competition will begin Saturday, at noon and doors will open at 9 a.m. for dancers.

A master class will follow Sunday, at 8 a.m.

“Dance Teachers United is a non-profit organization that is all for empowering dance teachers and kids,” Debra Franco, owner of the Debra Franco Preparatory School of Dance said.

“Saturday is the competition and we have students from maybe three or four different states coming in. There will be couples, best friends, soloists, acrobatics and different types of dance genres.”

Though the event is a competition, it is also meant to be a learning experience for students.

“We have three judges coming in. One is flying in from New York Friday, one is from L.A. and one is from South Carolina, I believe,” said Franco. “Sunday will be a very classy type of day. We will open up with prayer and the dancers will split up into different classes and the judges will actually teach them.”

The event has something for everyone and all are invited.

“People can come see the competition. Admission is free for the competition but the programs are $2,”Franco said.

“There will be vendors selling different items like costumes, jewelry and dance shoes.”

Dancers from all over

DTU is a 26-year-old organization based in New Orleans.

Franco said DTU works diligently to gather dancers from around the U.S. to offer them a chance to become a professional dancer in the future.

“I have three soloists competing in the competition portion this year, but I encourage all of my students to compete,” said Franco.

“They get to see students from four different states and even some from Hattiesburg. I just think it’s a great opportunity for the girls. We hope that they all grow up to become dancers, but some grow up to be lawyers and doctors. This is just a memory that they can hold on to,” Franco said.

Students and teachers have the opportunity to take away more than new dance lessons from this event. Most leave with information that stays with them, while others take away inspiration.

“I hope that flame will be put back under them and they’ll be motivated to dance,” Franco said. “Sometimes when you have the same teachers and the same routines it gets boring. These are going to be all new teachers and they’re going to be teaching a class with new students that they don’t really know. We want them to be inspired, we want them to learn and make friends. We want them to get as much out of it as they possibly can.”