Apparel Merchandising and Product Development Students Design and Create Dress for Local Pro Dancer

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From left, Judy Weech, Katelyn Stellar, instructor and dancer Lance Cheramie, instructor Stephanie Hubert and Alyssa DeShong with the dress created for professional dancer Aura King.

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. — Several students in the apparel merchandising and product development program of the Dale Bumpers College of Agricultural, Food and Life Sciences at the University of Arkansas designed an outfit worn by professional dancer Aura King at a recent event.

Students Judy Weech, Katelyn Stellar and Alyssa DeShong designed and constructed the dress with supervision from instructor Stephanie Hubert.

"The students worked with silk chiffon, stretch tulle and added embellishments of lace and gems by hand," said Hubert. "It is always such a pleasure working with these talented students."

King is the owner of Dance King Productions in Bentonville. At the recent Winter Showcase event at Dance King Studio, King performed in the dress with partner Lance Cheramie, an apparel merchandising and product development instructor in the Bumpers College's School of Human Environmental Sciences.

The event included 12 performances by nine different dancers.

Professional dancer Aura King and Bumpers College apparel merchandising and product development instructor Lance Cheramie perform a theatrical Viennese waltz at the Winter Showcase at Dance King Studio.

King and Cheramie performed a theatrical Viennese waltz to the song "Earned It" by The Weeknd.

"I want to give a big shout out to my apparel merchandising and product development students Katelyn, Alyssa and Judy," said Cheramie. "They took a design concept from Aura and me, sketched it, sourced the fabric, put Aura in a body scanner for measurements and produced this magnificent dress. They also reconstructed my jacket. They did a great job. And kudos to their instructor Stephanie Hubert."

Collections by students in the apparel merchandising and product development program will be on display at the annual spring fashion show April 20 at the Fayetteville Town Center.

About the Dale Bumpers College of Agricultural, Food and Life Sciences: Bumpers College provides life-changing opportunities to position and prepare graduates who will be leaders in the businesses associated with foods, family, the environment, agriculture, sustainability and human quality of life; and who will be first-choice candidates of employers looking for leaders, innovators, policy makers and entrepreneurs. The college is named for Dale Bumpers, former Arkansas governor and longtime U.S. senator who made the state prominent in national and international agriculture.

About the University of Arkansas: The University of Arkansas provides an internationally competitive education for undergraduate and graduate students in more than 200 academic programs. The university contributes new knowledge, economic development, basic and applied research, and creative activity while also providing service to academic and professional disciplines. The Carnegie Foundation classifies the University of Arkansas among only 2 percent of universities in America that have the highest level of research activity. U.S. News & World Report ranks the University of Arkansas among its top American public research universities. Founded in 1871, the University of Arkansas comprises 10 colleges and schools and maintains a low student-to-faculty ratio that promotes personal attention and close mentoring.