The duet TOUCH, choreographed by Debra Knapp has been selected to be performed at the American College Dance Festival national conference in New York City this June. This dance was judged by three adjudicators at the region conference in Wichita, Kansas in early March. Twenty-six university dance programs compete to perform at the conference's gala showcase. From the eight dances chosen for the gala, two dances were then selected to represent this region at the national conference. "The adjudicators only knew the title of the dance," Knapp said. "They didn't know who choreographed it or which school was performing, it is equivalent to submitting an article to a referred journal." Knapp said it was an honor to be chosen especially since NMSU's dance degree program was created nine years ago. They had attended the conference for the past six years and hadn't won a spot in the gala.
TOUCH is a duet performed by Candice William and Joseph Putman, inspired by a sculpture by Las Cruces artist Dan Tapper titled "Harmony." The music was composed by Las Cruces musician Geof Abruzzi.
Knapp wasn't the only NMSU winner at the conference, William was awarded outstanding performer, the highest award at the conference for a performer. At nationals, William will compete for Dance Magazine's and American College Dance Festival's performance award, which is given to the best dancer of the 10 regions.