Trading In Their White Coats for Entertainment

LEXINGTON, Ky. (March 29, 2010) − Students, faculty and staff trade in their white coats and stethoscopes for an evening of dance shoes and musical instruments at the Spring Humanities Festival at 7 p.m. Friday, April 2, at the UK Singletary Center for the Arts, hosted by the University of Kentucky College of Medicine.

"This will be my third year participating in the festival, and my role has been to choreograph and perform in group dances," said Marlena Mattingly, performer and third-year UK medical student. "Each year the dances have a theme and this year's theme is a patient's journey through illness and the role medical professionals and students play in this process. The festival is a great way for students and faculty in the College of Medicine, and other health colleges, to cultivate and display their artistic talents while having fun."

This annual showcase, which is free and open to the public, provides performers with a welcome outlet for their creativity and the audience with an original entertainment experience. A reception at the Singletary Center will follow the performance.

"My favorite part of performing in this showcase is the relationships I get the opportunity to build with other aspiring professionals through the humanities," said Swope Munday, third-year UK medical student and member of the UK College of Medicine Humanities Council. "It is an opportunity to get to know my classmates in an arena outside of the hospital." Over the past two years Munday has performed as the accompanist for the medical school chorus, MedTones, a piano solo and accompanied a cellist. This year Munday will be adding singing in the chorus and swing dancing to his festival lineup.

The festival is inspired by Sue Fosson, former assistant dean for student affairs in the College of Medicine, and bridges the various fields of work and study found in health care. There will be instrumental and vocal solos and small groups, dance groups, a chorus, and a band. Fosson's passion for connecting the arts with science among medical students led to the founding of the University of Kentucky Medical Center Humanities Project during her tenure, which has grown over the years to include other UK health-related colleges.

The Sue Fosson Spring Humanitites Festival is sponsored by the UK Medical Center Humanities Project, College of Medicine Office of Student Affairs.

For more information on the Humanities Festival, contact Carlene Hodges at (859) 323-5261 or cghodg0@uky.edu.