ISU dancers will present their popular dance concert, “Barjche,” this weekend, the end product of many hours of instruction and rehearsal.

The concert is a combination of 14 dances choreographed by guest artists, faculty and ISU students.

Award-winning choreographer Nana Shineflug visited Iowa State for an intense week of training in January. Shineflug, director of the Chicago Moving Company, has received many prestigious awards for her choreographic work.

Shineflug’s work stems from both yoga and tai-chi movements.

“She helps the students find a movement core which helps create very powerful ways of moving,” dance professor and choreographer Janice Baker said. “At 65 she has more energy than anyone. She uses all of her life experiences to help her, even the worst, and I admire that.”

Shineflug often uses intense sounds while choreographing movements within a dance.

“She believes that the body responds to sound,” dancer Lisa Armfield, sophomore in chemical engineering, said.

Shineflug’s instruction inspired many of the dancers.

“She has a great personality and I really learned a lot from her,” dancer Chia-Yin Ko, senior in electrical engineering, said. “She pointed out something that I had never realized and she actually transformed the way that I move now.”

Everyone involved with “Barjche” has invested a lot of time into this production.

“This week we’ve practiced about six hours a day, and when Nana was here for a week in January we practiced about seven hours a day,” Armfield said.

A group of more than 50 dancers make up the cast for this years performance. “This year the performers are very mature, and they bring a lot of experience to the stage,” Baker said. “The dancers are very independent expressing themselves in their own ways throughout the dances.”

The students involved had many good things to say about their experiences with “Barjche.” “This year was the first year that I was involved with ‘Barjche,'” Ko said. “I’m a graduating senior and I wish that I had joined earlier.”

“It was definitely a good experience,” Armfield added. “It’s fun to watch and fun to do.”

The 14 dances represent a wide variety of subjects and strive to create many different emotions.

Contrast is what makes the night fun, Baker said.

Baker’s “Love to the Power of Six” deals with many different views towards love. In contrast, Vernon Windsor’s piece, “Chavela’s Dream,” is inspired by the animal world.

“I had a great time pulling out dancers personalities and using those in the dances,” Baker said.

This is the 18th year for “Barjche” at Iowa State, and a dance alumni reunion is scheduled for 2:00 p.m. Saturday in Forker 196.

“It’s so exciting to see so many alumni returning for the performance,” Baker said. “‘Barjche’ has something for everyone,” Baker added. “The magic of modern dance is that you get what you want from it.”