COD offers afternoon of swing and dance

If you think front-row concert tickets sound great, how'd you like to sit on the stage?

When the DuPage Community Jazz Ensemble performs Sunday, Nov. 1, audience members will find their seats on the stage of the College of DuPage's Belushi Performance Hall. And if the swing music moves them, they're welcome to get up out of those cabaret seats and dance, too.

DuPage Community Jazz Ensemble performs from 1 to 3 p.m. Sunday, Nov. 1, in the Belushi Performance Hall at the McAninch Arts Center on campus, 425 Fawell Blvd., Glen Ellyn. The audience will have the opportunity to join the jazz ensemble on stage in cabaret style seating, complete with a dance floor.

"We look forward to seeing old friends and making new friends with a dance book that continues to grow and the wonderful vocals of Deb Zelman," ensemble Director Tom Tallman said.

The concert will feature Zelman, of Naperville, as guest vocalist, backed by the DuPage Community Jazz Ensemble performing the standards of Cole Porter, George and Ira Gershwin, Johnny Mercer and others in an afternoon of band jazz standards, ballads, fox trots and Latin tunes.

Luis Santillan will lead free swing dance lessons on the stage from 2:30 to 3 p.m. Founder and owner of Luis Arturo Dance Academy in Glen Ellyn, Santillan has trained in Mexican folklore, ballet, jazz and hip-hop.

He has taught at dance studios throughout the Chicago area, including Dance Fun, ABC Dance Company and DuPage Dance Center.

The DuPage Community Jazz Ensemble is a big band with expanded traditional instrumentation. Each season the ensemble performs a spring and fall dance event. The ensemble also performs concerts at COD and off-campus at locations that include Mullen's in Lisle, Hackney's in Palos Park and Chicago's legendary Jazz Showcase.

Tickets are $6. For information, visit atthemac.org or call (630) 942-4000.