UMBC presents the Liz Lerman Dance Exchange in concert on Friday, February 4 at 8 p.m. in the UMBC Theatre.

The Liz Lerman Dance Exchange's performance at UMBC offers a sneak peek into a dance company whose moves, grooves and imagery are created from a multitude of voices spanning six decades.

The repertory evening includes excerpts from Nocturnes, set to music of Willie Nelson; In Praise of Animals and Their People, which celebrates the prayerful relationships of animal companionship and the kinesthetic beauty of animals; and other favorites from the company's menagerie of movement.

Founded in 1976, the Liz Lerman Dance Exchange presents a unique brand of dance/theater, breaking boundaries between stage and audience, theater and community, movement and language, tradition and the unexplored. Through explosive dancing, personal stories and intelligent humor, Liz Lerman Dance Exchange stretches the expressive range of contemporary dance.

Founding Artistic Director Liz Lerman has choreographed works that have been seen throughout the U.S. and abroad. Combining dance with realistic imagery, her works are defined by the spoken word, drawing from literature, personal experience, philosophy, and political and social commentary.

Over the past 26 years she has received recognition for her work with Liz Lerman Dance Exchange and as a solo artist. In 2002, she received a MacArthur "Genius Grant" fellowship for her visionary work. She has received an American Choreographer Award, the American Jewish Congress "Golda" award, the first annual Pola Nirenska Award, the Mayor's Art Award, and was named Washingtonian Magazine's Washingtonian of the Year in 1988.

Liz Lerman's work has been commissioned by Lincoln Center, American Dance Festival, Dancing in the Street, BalletMet, and The Kennedy Center. Her choreographic work has received support from AT&T, Meet The Composer, American Festival Project, National Endowment for the Arts, National Performance Network Creation Fund, and the National Foundation for Jewish Culture.

Tickets for the concert at UMBC are $17 general admission and $7 for students and seniors, available through MissionTix at www.missiontix.com or 410-752-8950.

An open rehearsal will be held at 2:30 p.m. on Thursday, February 3 in the Theatre. Admission to the open rehearsal is free.