Southwestern Michigan College is the place to be for dance lovers on Saturday, Sept. 24.

The Dowagiac Dogwood Fine Arts Festival presents a special dance event featuring not one, but two, nationally-known traveling dance companies.

The day begins with Dance Convention, featuring 12 workshop master classes for dancers of all ages in ballet, jazz, modern, contemporary, clogging and choreography.

The evening performance stars the dance companies Rustic Groove and Gus Jazz Dance Co., formerly known as Giordano 3.

During the performance, students from the day’s master classes will perform alongside these nationally-acclaimed dancers in a special number choreographed for the show.

Rustic Groove Dance is a modern-based company that remains true to dance both in technique and art form.

The company creates a full sensory experience for the mind, body and soul.

Ultimately, the audience rediscovers humanity through works and story lines that portray universal themes.

The company consists of both professional and pre-professional (junior) members who have performed and taught both nationally and internationally.

Rustic Groove is not to be confused with performance art.

The directors and choreographers, while creating large and worldwide concepts, maintain a vocabulary that is inventive and accessible to all audiences.

Gus Jazz Dance Co. is dedicated to the preservation, advancement and presentation of jazz dance.

Gus Giordano was the founder of American Jazz Dance.

Gus’s commitment to spread the joy of jazz dance throughout the world continues with Gus Jazz Dance Co.

Featured during the dance convention are acclaimed instructors.

Matthew Farmer, director of dance at Hope College and formerly the head of dance at Anderson University, is also the  co-artistic director of Rustic Groove Dance Company.

As co-artistic director, Farmer has had great success as both a choreographer and performer.

Most recently, the world premier of his evening-length, site-specific work Millstones finished its initial engagement at the Armory Arts and begins its tour starting in the fall of 2011.

Farmer has also published a book (Introductory Modern Dance: A Teaching Manual) with friend and colleague Jon Lehrer.

Farmer received his MFA from the University of Michigan in dance performance and choreography.

Farmer also studied under and performed with Steven Lannacone while receiving his BA in theater and dance from Hope.

As a soloist and guest performer, his performance credits include Dance Chicago, Men Dance Michigan, Next Step Dance, Chicago Humanities Festival, The Rein Orange (Duesberg, Germany) The European Cultural Bid (Liverpool, UK), The Roof (Germany) and The Summer Stage (Brugge, Belgium).

David Petro is a casting director and performer.

Petro was the Broadway casting director for Colored Girls, Off-Broadway:  Altar Boyz, Dreamgirls, IDAHO!, Drift and The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee.

Petro was a performer in the Broadway and national tours of CATS, Cabaret and the television show FAME LA.

Lisa Bredahl, originally from northern Michigan near Traverse City, has performed professionally with 3 x 3 Dance, Company Dance Traverse, Young Michigan Dances, Kalamazoo Junior Dance Co., West Michigan Dance Collaborative and many productions through Western Michigan University’s Dance Department.

She received her bachelor of arts in dance from WMU and continues to study with master teachers, including Martine van Hamel of ABT, Charthel Arther of Grand Rapids Ballet and Joffery, Paul Sutherland, Cherie Noble and Paul Abrahamson of Chicago Ballet as well as at Hubbard Street and Joel Hall in Chicago several times per year.

Kimberly Martz  grew up in La Porte, Ind., but danced in southwestern Michigan most of her life.

At Ball State, Martz started the Burris Dazzlers Dance Team at Burris High School and received her bachelor’s degree in dance performance and dance education.

Besides directing and teaching the Dazzlers, Martz performed in junior and senior choreography shows and Dance! Dance! Dance!

While at Ball State, Martz also performed in the Brachs Holiday Parade in Chicago, the Florida Citrus Bowl and the NCA College Cheer and Dance Nationals.

Choreography is her passion.

Besides choreographing for Encore Dance Company, she has choreographed for various pom, dance and cheer teams, choirs and competition dance teams.

Martz, of South Bend, Ind., is lead dance faculty at Encore School of the Arts, where she teaches clogging, musical theater, hip-hop, contemporary, and directs “Encore Extreme Pom Team.”

Imperial Furniture of Dowagiac is proud to support the arts in southwest Michigan as sponsor of this event.

The Dogwood Fine Arts Festival is made possible through sponsorship by the St. Denys Foundation, the National Endowment for the Arts and the Michigan Council for Arts and Cultural Affairs.

The dance convention will be held on the Dowagiac campus of Southwestern Michigan College.

Classes begin at $20.

Evening performances will be at the theater in the Dale A. Lyons Building, also on the Dowagiac campus.

Tickets cost $12 for adults and $7 for students.

For tickets or a class registration form, visit www.dogwoodfinearts.org or phone (269) 782-1115 or (866) 490-2847.