The Ethington Dance Ensemble, under the guidance of GCU’s director of dance, Susannah Keita, has come a long way since its start a year ago. This production showcases that evolution, tackling several different styles of dance and combining them — sometimes even within one piece — smoothly and effortlessly. Thanks to the talented choreographers added to Keita’s staff this year and a program that is now 50 students strong, Thursday’s opening-night audience was shown a wide range of techniques and variations inspired by famous dancers and choreographers throughout history.

For a dancer, being onstage is the culmination of a lot of hard work and dedication. It is the end result of countless hours of classes and practice and missed social outings with friends. But as any serious performer knows, sharing your art with others becomes a passion. For two such dancers who will perform Thursday and Friday in “Legacy,” the 2011 Winter Dance Concert at Ethington Theatre, that passion to dance has become their lives.

It is logical to think that there are only two reasons to run: toward something or away from something. But what if there were a third reason? To run for something? GCU’s Eva St. Arnauld, director of student success for the Center for Learning and Advancement and coach of the Antelope dance team, felt there was a third reason and decided that she had something to run for: to inspire others. On Nov. 6, St. Arnauld ran in the New York City Marathon, something that very few people — even avid runners — get the chance to do.

The GCU College of Fine Arts and Production presents Legacy – a winter dance concert honoring dancers in history. The production was choreographed by Zari Le’on, Susannah Keita, Jessica Rajko, Sonja Mitrovic and Antoinette Proctor. Performances are December 15 and 16 at 7:30 p.m. in Ethington Theatre. Tickets are $10. To purchase tickets, call the box office at 602.639.8880 or ethington@gcu.edu.

Zimbabwean-born dancer Rujeko Dumbutshena loves her culture and enjoys being able to teach others about that culture through dance. That is what she will be doing this Friday when she teaches a master class at GCU. “We are so excited to be able to host Rujeko at Grand Canyon University,” says the director of dance for the College of Fine Arts and Production, Susannah Keita, who has attended Camp Mabina in New Mexico, a summer dance institute for which Dumbutshena is the artistic director. “Her class promises to be invigorating and challenging for all, including novice and experienced dancers.”

Any actor can dream of Broadway. Mike Hegeman dreams of a small, 300-seat theatre in west Phoenix — more than 20 years after he performed there as a college student. Forgive him, then, for pinching himself when the curtain is raised Friday on “You Can’t Take It With You,” the Pulitzer Prize-winning comedy that opens the Ethington Theatre Series for 2011-12 at GCU.

Congratulations to GCU’s cheer and dance teams, which brought home several awards from last weekend’s UCA/UDA summer camp at the University of California at Santa Barbara. The camp also was attended by Arizona State University and the University of Arizona. The dance team took third place, and cheer won the Leadership Award (described as “If you were not a member of your own team, which team would you want to be on?”).

GCU was thrown into the NBA spotlight over the weekend as more than 150 dancers descended on the Student Recreation Center, each of them hoping to become a Phoenix Suns Dancer for the 2011-12 season. Because of its partnership with the Suns, GCU was approached about hosting the auditions in the new Arena, but the facility is more than a month from completion. The Rec Center was offered instead, and Kip Helt, the Suns’ vice president of game entertainment, couldn’t have been happier with the outcome.

Start-ups are never easy, as GCU’s director of dance, Susannah Keita, has discovered. Building a dance program from the ground up has been difficult, and yet already there have been rewards. What a difference a year can make.

GCU’s cheer and dance teams have been chosen for 2011-12, after recent tryouts that drew more than 70 applicants. “We could not be happier with the turnout,” said Emily Stephens, GCU’s cheer coach. “It really shows how much the interest level in our programs is growing.”