TCU dance students are bringing the Dallas-Fort Worth community together for a benefit concert in support of the AIDS Outreach Center of Tarrant County.
The Chi Tau Epsilon Dance Honors Society will host its 33rd annual AIDS Outreach Center Benefit Concert at 7:30 p.m. on Feb. 21 in Erma Lowe Hall.
Tickets cost $10 for students and $20 for the general public. Proceeds from the concert are given in full to Fort Worth’s AIDS Outreach Center.
“Knowing that you’re doing it for a purpose enlivens the joy that we all feel for dance, because we are doing it for something so great and for something so big,” said Cathleen Johnsen, a junior dance major and co-director of community engagement for Chi Tau Epsilon.
HIV and AIDS remain ongoing health concerns in the Fort Worth area, where public health data shows that thousands of residents currently live with the virus. According to the Healthy North Texas community health records, an estimated 7,183 people in Tarrant County were living with HIV in 2023, and its prevalence has continued to increase over time.
Organizations such as the AIDS Outreach Center provide free testing, prevention education and support services to those affected, reflecting ongoing local efforts to address the disease.
The concert, which is completely student-run, has been in the works since the beginning of the academic year and reflects the long-standing relationship between Chi Tau Epsilon and the AOC.
In 1993, former AOC President Andrew Grayman-Parkhurst organized a benefit concert to honor accompanist Lee Fincher, who died from HIV/AIDS. The concert has since continued and has made an effective difference in the community, said Keith Saunders, an associate professor of professional practice and campus advisor of Chi Tau Epsilon.
The AIDS Outreach Benefit Concert will take place in Erma Lowe Hall. (Heesoo Yang/Staff Photographer)
TCU’s dance program has invited dance companies from the DFW area to participate in the concert. This year’s event will include performances from Avant Chamber Ballet, Ballet Frontier, DanceTCU, DBDT: Encore!, Sarah Newton, Annika Sheaff, Terrell Dance Ensemble and Texas Ballet Theatre Studio Company, according to an Instagram post by TCU School for Classical & Contemporary Dance.
“I think the community and the trust we’ve built with all the companies and schools around the Fort Worth area is what’s been able to keep us going,” said Camila Orozco, a senior dance major and co-director of community engagement for Chi Tau Epsilon. “Out of all the concerts we do, for this one, we have the opportunity to be in the same room as other companies. That environment creates a really special show.”
The participating companies are a combination of high school dance programs, college dance programs and professional dance companies.
“The commitment and the buy-in from these companies is extraordinary,” Saunders said. “It gives a wonderful overview of the vitality across levels of the DFW dance scene coming together to benefit a city.”
As the concert continues to grow, Saunders said space may soon become a limiting factor. Johnsen and Orozco agreed, saying that the event regularly fills the venue.
What began as a small performance has become a significant annual tradition, bringing dancers across the DFW area together and reinforcing TCU’s role as a connecting force for the arts community.