The University of North Carolina Asheville’s new dance program will present "Dances to Dine For" at 8 p.m. Friday, April 6, at Diana Wortham Theatre in downtown Asheville. The concert will benefit the new dance program and UNCA’s developing epiCenter.

The evening kicks off in Pack Place Forum with hors d’oeuvres and desserts at 7 p.m. The dance concert will begin at 8 p.m. in Diana Wortham Theatre. More than 50 dancers from UNCA and the Asheville community will delight the audience with dances ranging from African and Middle Eastern to ballet and jazz.

The performance celebrates the formation of the UNCA dance program created last year. The course of study is designed for students who wish to develop their personal skill and interest in dance as well as for those who wish to enhance performance career possibilities. UNCA’s dance program is designed to complement the university’s liberal arts focus by encouraging students to consider connections between their major studies and interest in the art and practice of dance.

Located on Battery Park Ave., UNCA’s epiCenter is slated to become a center of creative expression and interaction for the community and university. The center will bring to downtown Asheville a collaborative space for art galleries, performance arenas, sculpture studios and special areas for community events and lectures. For more information about plans for the epiCenter, call Beverly Modlin, UNCA vice chancellor for university relations, at 828/251-6525 or Tucker Cooke, UNCA art department chair, at 828/251-6874.

Patron tickets are $25 and include parking, the reception and special seating. Tickets are available by phone by calling UNCA’s Development Office at 828/251-6080. For those not interested in patron amenities, general admission tickets are available for $10 at Diana Wortham Theatre.

For more information, call UNCA’s Development Office at 828/251-6080.