Jessica Mego’s choreographed piece, “F=ma(le),” elaborates on the well-recognized equation “force equals mass times acceleration” to illustrate the strength in femininity.

Dancers performed Mego’s piece, which she created for the B.F.A. senior dance concert, at a regional conference this weekend in Allendale, Mich., at Grand Valley State University.

Mego was inspired by a quote that spoke to her both as a dancer and as a person.

“I found a quote by Maya Angelou ­— ‘The quality of strength, lined with tenderness, is an unbeatable combination,’” Mego said. “I like to be a strong individual physically, mentally, intellectually and emotionally, but I am also tender.”

Andrea Shearer, dance division director and associate professor, said Mego was chosen, along with a faculty member, to showcase her choreographed piece at the conference.

“The adjudication concert of the American College Dance Festival Association is a national organization,” Shearer said. “It breaks the country into 12 regions, we are part of the east central region. Each region has a festival every year.”

Shearer said the dance program decided to feature Mego’s piece after discussing which would most powerfully portray their work.

“Jessica’s piece had a lot of unusual partnering,” Shearer said. “It used women in a lot of different ways, and it’s about strong women.”

Shearer said a group of faculty also sent a piece by Kimberly Karpanty, associate professor of dance.

Shearer said when viewing the pieces at Grand Valley State University, the judges were only given the name of the piece, the year it was created, and the music.

“There are three internationally know dancers, choreographers, really famous people from around the world as judges,” Shearer said. “They sit in the theater and they see works anonymously submitted. Then out of hundreds of pieces, they choose 10 or 12 and the last night they have a gala concert.”

When Mego found out she was chosen for the conference in Michigan, she was ecstatic.

“It’s just a real honor to be chosen for something like that,” Mego said. “I was so happy they gave me the opportunity to show my work; I wouldn’t trade it for the world. I am taking advantage of opportunity to get my work out there to and to get the school and my dancers seen is really the most important thing.”

Contact Megan Confer at [email protected].