"Social Entrepreneurship and Self-Reliance" is this year's theme

The Brigham Young University Center for Economic Self-Reliance will be hosting the 12th Annual Economic Self-Reliance Conference, "Social Entrepreneurship and Self-Reliance," Thursday and Friday, Nov. 5-6, in the BYU Conference Center.

Registration for the conference is $185. If purchased on or before Friday, Oct. 26, registration is $160. The fee does not include the awards banquet. Registration discounts are available for large groups, BYU faculty and staff and college or high school students. For more information on the conference and to register, visit esrconference.byu.edu.

The ESR 2009 Conference will include panels and discussion sessions covering such topics as new strategies for teaching those in poverty, the impact engineers have in alleviating poverty, business solutions for development and innovative ideas for investing in new social markets. Participants will also explore the most common paths to becoming social entrepreneurs.

Keynote speakers at the conference include Jim Fruchterman, founder of Benetech, a nonprofit company that creates technology solutions for underserved communities, and Kushal Chakrabarti, co-founder and CEO of Vittana, a nonprofit foundation that provides student loans to the developing world.

The Thursday night Social Innovator of the Year Award Reception and Banquet will honor Fruchterman. The award has been part of the Economic Self-Reliance Conference since 2001.

The conference will also host an Exhibition Fair, which will provide a venue for organizations to display their achievements and network with conference participants. The fair will be held throughout the entire ESR Conference.

Brigham Young University's Department of Dance will present the dancEnsemble's fall concert, "Lifelines," Friday and Saturday, Nov. 6-7, in the Dance Studio Theatre, 166 Richards Building.

Showings begin both nights at 7:30 p.m. with a matinee Saturday, Nov. 7, at 2 p.m. Tickets are $6 at the Fine Arts Ticket Office, (801) 422-4322 or online at byuarts.com.

This semester's unique production will present works by both students and faculty. Unlike most performing companies at BYU, dancEnsemble provides students with experience in choreography and concert production.

"It is a wonderful opportunity for budding choreographers to learn and grow," said company member Rebecca Downs, who noted that inspiration for the dances came from many sources.

Koryl Wadsworth's piece, "All Clear," was inspired from her observations of everyday situations. "I've noticed that the people I admire seem to live fuller and happier lives because they don't let their little mistakes bring them down," Wadsworth said.

Other dancers, like Roxanne DeBord, chose to work on a more abstract level, allowing texture, layers and the body itself to be her inspiration.

In addition to a variety of student works, three faculty pieces will be presented. Jiamin Huang, in collaboration with Xiaolong Miao, will present a quirky and innovative piece,"Evolution." Robin Konie will also present her work "Nothing Up My Sleeve," while director Pam Musil will present "Torrential Accumulations."