Mayra Escobedo / Roundup
The annual Spring Dance Concert took place in the Performing Arts Building’s Main Stage this past weekend.
It opened Friday with a full house.
The concert showcased a variety of dance styles such as ballet, jazz, modern dance, musical theater, dance improvisation, dance drama, swing, salsa, tap and hip hop.
There was a cast of about 125 dancers all of which were students according to Marian Weiser, Dance and Theater instructor.
With a total of 21 different performances there was something for everyone.
Performances like “Click, Clack, Clog” and “Candy Jive” had the audience laughing.
“Click, Clack, Clog” featured an older couple tap dancing. During the performance the female dancer teasingly raised her red polka dot skirt a little as audience members whistled and the couple kept the audience laughing as they began to dance the robot.
At the end of their performance several audience members gave them a standing ovation and they received the loudest applause on opening night.
“Candy Jive” was a swing dance that had two groups of girls, one dresses in pin up costumes the other in poodle skirts, fighting for the attention of a group of guys dressed in military uniforms. The audience laughed as the guys ditched the poodle skirt wearing girls for the sexy pin up girls.
Other performances like “Betrayal” were a little more serious.
“Betrayal” began with a dancer standing on a platform proclaiming “I don’t want to go down this distorted path again” as she stepped of the platform and began to dance joining two other dancers as percussions were played in the back. Throughout the performance the first dancer proclaimed “why is this happening to me” and later “leave me alone, stop hurting me” as she lay on the floor pushing herself around the stage.
Jackie Rollins performed in “The Sun Spot,” “Transitions” and “Flight”.
It was her third time performing in the concert.
She said that when dancing she has to be in a “different place mentally or else it becomes movement” and she didn’t think people attended the concert to see movement.
Rollins’ favorite performance was “Revolving” because “it was deep and you could really feel what they were doing”
Crystal McGinnis performed in “James Impossible Gun” and “The Sun Spot” and choreographed “Transitions” for the concert.
It was her fourth time choreographing and fifth time dancing in the concert.
McGinnis said that she loved the opportunity to choreograph because of the different expressions she gets to do and great dancers she gets to work with.
Some guests attended the concert to see their friends perform,
Paola Aguilar was one of them. She said she attended the concert to see her friend Crystal McGinnis, perform.
She said that she has attended past dance concerts and that they are always really great.
“My favorite performance was the old couple that tap danced because they were fun to watch” said Hector Garcia.
Kristine Schulte and Chloe Acquavella also thought that the concert was great and said they attended because they had a friend that was performing.
After opening night ended, standing in the lobby while looking at a little boy dancing on the floor with a smile Weiser said “after a few hours we’ve created a new dancer.”
The next dance concert will be in the Fall and it will feature folk and ethnic dances.
(Sayed Balhki / Roundup)
(Sayed Balhki / Roundup)
