The Pierce College Performing Arts department got into the holiday spirit a little early with their annual fall concert cleverly titled “Dance Wrapped with a Bow.”
Act one started with a tribute to the men and women fighting for our country today called “Across the Desert Skies.” The piece started with a passage of the book “Stuck in this Sandbox” read by Leah Foster.
The reading was followed by a choreographed dance by Jenny Quezada Ghiglia. Dancers Joshua and Amanda did an amazing job dancing to an arrangement of the “Little Drummer Boy.”
Another one of my favorites from act one was the piece titled “Dance Never Dies.” Students Jordyn Koyamatsu, Bonnie Lavin-Hughes, Kiana Soriano, and Fanny Valdez choreographed this piece. The dance focus on the “Day of the Dead,” which is a Hispanic holiday that celebrates Hispanic ancestry.
The holiday also celebrates death and laughing in the face of the grim reaper as opposed to fearing death or denying it. The dancers did a great job of honoring the Day of the Dead and conveying what it is truly about in this fabulous dance.
After the intermission the concert got off to a great start with a contemporary dance choreographed by Anthony Powell. A very emotional and moving performance that began the second act of the show. One thing that stood out to me during this performance was the jumps. I just couldn’t keep my eyes of the dancers who looked like little angels sent from heaven.
One of my favorite dances of the entire concert was the dance titled “Santa might be delayed” in which there was a very special appearance by Mr. and Mrs. Claus. A fantastically choreographed piece by Bonnie Lavin-Hughes and Drew Stern.
Stern did an amazing job of embodying a modern day pop-locking Santa Claus. Mrs. Claus played by Gloria Eghbali did a great job of keeping up with Mr. Claus and also getting him back on track to deliver those gifts.
My last favorite of the night had to be a dance titled “Debutantes’ Ball Goes Nuts” choreographed by Kindra Windish and reconstructed by Bonnie Lavin-Hughes. The dance started with two girls who both receive gifts.
One girl receives a ball and the other receives what seemed to be a fabulous red scarf.
The other girl seeming visibly upset proceeds to pout until a bunch of ballerinas come out of the wings and take her ball. This dance was filled with amazing turns and jumps. I just couldn’t turn away from the amazing ballerinas on the stage.
All in all this years fall holiday concert was very entertaining and choreographed very well. I enjoyed all the diversity of cultures in the show and the students did an amazing job. The Los Angeles Pierce College “Dance Wrapped with a Bow” concert was a great holiday treat for students, friends and family.
