Versa Style Dance Kicks of UtahPresents Season with High Energy Hip-Hop 

Salt Lake City, UT – August 22, 2016 – Young, committed, and conscientious, the dancers of Versa Style are setting out to change what you think about hip-hop. The two founders, both teachers at UCLA (and national and international hip-hop battle award winners), create works that fuse dance styles, including hip-hop and Afro-Latin styles like salsa and merengue, to break down barriers in style and culture.

Kicking off the UtahPresents 2016-17 season, Versa Style will perform at Kingsbury Hall on Friday, September 9 at 7:30 PM. Tickets are $25, with a $5 ticket for U of U students and a $10 ticket for non-U students and youth under 18, and are available at 801-581-7100 or utahpresents.org. 

In addition to the public performance, Versa Style will be teaching classes with students and community members, as well as performing for 3rd - 12th grade students at a school matinee at Kingsbury Hall.

Versa Style is a dance ensemble that consists of young, committed and conscientious artists representing the diversity and beautiful complexity of Los Angeles. The company creates highly energetic work that fuses dances that are culturally significant to the diverse LA community. These forms include Hip-Hop styles such as 90s Hip-Hop, House, Popping, Locking, Whacking and Boogaloo, and Afro-Latin styles such as Salsa, Merengue, Cumbia and Afro-Cuban to name a few. As a reaction to the widespread media misrepresentation of these dance forms, Versa Style specifically aims to perform for the youth of Los Angeles to instill the roots, history, and social and political issues surrounding the art of their generation. Hip-Hop breaks color lines by creating a forum where people come together for a common passion rather than grouping themselves by race or socio-economic backgrounds. Versa Style demonstrates freedom of expression, freedom of individuality, hard work, self-discipline and dedication to the form.

Jackie Lopez aka Miss Funk & Leigh Foaad aka Breeze-lee are the Founders and Artistic Directors of Versa Style Dance Company. Together they share a common passion for dance and performance, this connection resulted in the creation of Versa Style in 2005. As LA Natives, they embrace the culture and honor the history/legacy of Hip-hop dance by passing it on to the future generations. They have been guest choreographers for Santa Monica College, LA Valley College, Columbia College and University of Utah. Lopez and Foaad served as cultural ambassadors for the U.S. through the Arts Envoy Cultural Exchange Program in which they were able to perform, teach and lecture in countries such as Israel, Egypt, India, and Colombia. As a mainstay of Hip-hop culture, Lopez and Foaad have traveled to several Hip-hop dance battles nationally and internationally, winning many victory titles in places such as Korea, Italy, Canada, and France.

View and download high-resolution photos of Versa Style: https://www.dropbox.com/sh/ubbkrhbrc3vdubh/AAC8B77mrhapreuWnyr5F3Fea?dl=0

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About UtahPresents

UtahPresents, a multi-disciplinary presenter at the University of Utah, brings diverse artistic and cultural experiences to campus and the region, exploring and enriching the human experience through the lens of creativity and the arts.

As stewards of the iconic Kingsbury Hall, we provide a valuable gathering space for community events and campus partners.  Through a breadth of collaborations, UtahPresents encourages curiosity, enhances cultural vibrancy, and creates connections beyond the stage.