The ECU/Loessin playhouse will present Dance 2012 at 8 p.m. Jan. 26-31, except Jan. 29 when the show will be held at 2 p.m., at McGinnis Theatre on the East Carolina University campus. The performance can be described as eclectic, eccentric and electric. Graceful ballet, electrifying modern, percussive tap and jazz dance styles are all represented in choreography by East Carolina University dance faculty and special guest artists.

This year’s guest artist, Jennifer Archibald, is the founder and artistic director of Arch Dance Company. A graduate of the Alvin Ailey School, she is at the forefront of today’s dance generation of emerging dance artists and choreographers. She draws on a variety of techniques and styles including modern, hip-hop, jazz, Latin, west African, and reggae dance styles.

She has staged various musicals including “Bring in Da Noise/Bring in Da Funk,” “Cats,” “Carousel,” “The Music Man,” “Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat” and “Pippin” for professional theater companies. She has also choreographed for the NBA New York Knicks City Dancers, worked with numerous outreach projects within the New York City Public School system, and was hired by Tommy Hilfiger as a guest artist to teach inner city youth.

She has worked with singers Ludacris and Shaggy as well as actors such as Audrey Tautou, who starred in “The DaVinci Code” and “Amelie,” as a movement specialist and choreographer.

Archibald is a graduate of the Maggie Flannigan Acting Conservatory specializing in the Meisner technique. Currently on faculty at Steps on Broadway and Dance New Amsterdam, she teaches contemporary jazz and hip-hop. She is also a longtime faculty member at the Bates Dance Festival and Florida Dance Festival.

Tickets are $10-$12.50. Call 328-6829 or visit www.ecuarts.com.