The dance auditions that took place in the North Gym this past Thursday had a goal of forming a dance crew with new talent that hadn’t been seen before.
Whether it was their first time auditioning for the crew or if they had been on the crew before, Pierce students awaited their time to shine, and perform a choreographed hip-hop routine that they were to learn on the spot from Jay Gamble, a professional choreographer and CSUN student.
Some students including Jacob Soriano, had both excited and nervous feelings towards auditioning, especially when it came to having to learn the choreography.
“I feel nervous that I’m going to butcher the whole choreo… but I’m mostly excited to find out if I make the team and to purse my love for dance,” Soriano stated.
The goal of the dance crew this year is simple, to find a group of people who all share a commonality; to put their busy lives aside and just dance.
“I’m looking for new talent,” said Pierce College Dance Director Jenny Ghiglia, she added, “Enthusiasm, a love and passion for dance, great performers, great role models for other dancers on this campus, and for people to release stress in a fun and wonderful way.”
Although the new rules of competing as a dance crew this year are strict, the goal this year is to expand, including doing outreach performances to schools like Taft, at upcoming football games, and on campus events.
The number of people who made it onto the dance crew this year was not a concern, and it was more about the quality of dancers than the quantity. “I don’t have a number,” said Ghiglia. “I go by who comes and what talent we have, and based on the choreography and their own style I’ll take a balance of that and we’ll see what happens.”
To make it into the dance crew, the dancers must have a familiarity with hip-hop, whether that be as a b-boy, in tutting, locking, or commercial hip-hop. However, the auditions were open to people of all dance backgrounds who had an interest in expanding their dance horizons.
“I do hip-hop, contemporary, and lyrical but my main style is modern contemporary,” said first-time auditioner Angeleve Cortez. “I’m excited to meet new people, learn and get better every single day.”
While most student dancers auditioning for the first time had dance experience and an interest in continuing to grow, they also stressed the importance of the social aspect of a dance crew, and the opportunity to make friends.
“If I make it into the dance crew I’m mostly looking forward to the team environment, making friends, and to gain close relationships with one another,” said auditioner Kenneth Adkins. “No competition, no “clicks”, just everyone being one, in unity all together.”