Northeastern University Dance Company, a student-run dance company known as NUDANCO, will host their 15th Annual Winter Showcase Saturday in Blackman Auditorium.

NUDANCO, founded in 2002, holds a showcase each semester to perform pieces that student choreographers and dancers have been working on for months.

“Our main genres are ballet, contemporary, modern, jazz and hip-hop, but we also have tap and Irish step,” said Sarah Sidd, co-president of NUDANCO and a fourth-year chemical engineering major.

Sidd said new dancers and choreographers are chosen each semester. Choreographers, including returning ones, audition in September for the winter showcase and in January for the spring showcase. They perform their pieces in front of the executive board, who then selects about a dozen pieces.

After that, choreographers hold their own auditions. They pitch their pieces to prospective dancers and give the dancers a short preview of their piece. Dancers can audition for as many pieces as they want, but can only perform in three for the showcase.

Anya Losik, a second-year combined political science and environmental studies major, has been both a choreographer and dancer.

“It’s a great experience getting to both choreograph and perform in pieces that you and your peers worked an entire semester to perfect,” Losik said.

Losik also said among the NUDANCO choreographers and dancers, who number about 65 in total, nearly everyone comes in with years of competitive dancing experience.

“Because almost everyone has danced at the competitive level for most of their lives, choreographers and dancers can trust in each other to put together an amazing show,” Losik said. “Dancers can trust the choreographers to put together a great routine, while choreographers can trust the dancers to follow through with all the right movements, facial expressions, and so on. It’s a great feeling.”

Amber Lo, a fifth-year communication studies major, is another NUDANCO member who has been both a choreographer and dancer. Lo said one piece she is choreographing for the showcase involves 20,000 rose petals.

“The piece is about embracing the baggage that weighs heaviest on our shoulders, the memories of people that have come and gone,” Lo said. “It is about growing from all our immature experiences, and evolving into the best version of ourselves, remembering that the callow experiences made us who we are.”

Although showcases happen once a semester, NUDANCO still remains very active on campus. Losik said NUDANCO performs at events such as Relay for Life,HuskyFest and other various fundraisers and charity events. Though this keeps members very busy, they don’t seem to mind.

“Being a part of NUDANCO definitely keeps us busy, but coming together with so many of my peers after a draining week of classes or co-op to do what we love makes it all worth it,” Sidd said. “And when the showcase happens, all our hard work is paid off as we pour our hearts into each movement.”

The showcase will be performed at both 3 and 7 p.m. It is estimated to run for about an hour, and will include twelve pieces including a finale piece with all the dancers and choreographers. Tickets are available for free through the myNortheastern portal.