Spring dance show blooms beautifully
Tiffany Nguyen dancing in ‘The Way It Was’ (Sophia Hughes, The Puma Prensa)
By Sophia Hughes, web editor
Have you ever seen a dance team perform at rallies or football games? Well, the dance program also has shows, and they never cease to impress. In previous years, the dance program has consistently delivered a beautiful show with wonderfully choreographed dances, and with this show, they did it again. The show started off with the advanced dance team leading the first two songs of the show. The first is “Paint it, Black,” featuring the song “Paint it, Black,” by Ciara and choreographed by Delaney Bright, one of the graduating seniors. This contemporary dance spoke to the struggles of peer pressure and dawned a darker theme, brought on by the sharp movements in the show and the ghostly and somber-sounding music.
Next, the song “Gimmie More,” by Brittney Spears from her album Blackout sounded through the theater with a bold and upbeat dance to match choreographed by junior, Jill Ebner.
junior Chloe Cunningham commented they “Really liked the sense of nostalgia” the song gave.
The intermediate dancers chose a mix of songs, including “1942,” by G-Eazy, from the soundtrack to Uncle Drew, and “PICK IT UP,” featuring A$AP Rocky by Famous Dex, from the album Dex Meets Dexter and with the dance “3 Phones”, choreographed by Ashley Bryan and Anna Garcia.
Following that was the dance “Spiraling” with some of the advanced dance team members showcasing the ethereal song “Angel By the Wings,” by Sia and a slow-tempo dance choreographed by Abby Todhunter. While the song was sad the dance allowed for it to portray a uplifting story.
The dance “Last Chance” showcased a sassy dance in which fluid movements matched the song “Ain’t no Other Man,” by Christina Aguilar from the album Back to Basics played with choreographed by Katya Zyrianov.
“Don’t Need Nobody” was one of the two duets the dance show offered, choreographed and danced by juniors Lauren Cregan and Elise Curtis. The songs “All for Us” and “Mount Everest,” By Labrinth song's evolving lyrics highlight the glory of independence, which the dance's motions and choreography mirror, ending with one dancer breaking free of the other's hold.
The intermediate dance crew strutted onto the stage in blazers for the dance ‘It Ain’t a Man’s World’ featuring the song “Its a Man’s Man’s Man’s World,” by James Brown and the Famous Flames in the album Its a Man’s Man’s Man’s World choreographed by Ashleigh England and Maddie Lopez. The dance ends with another powerful walk off the stage with a dancer holding a prop briefcase.
With a mix of “Family Ties,” by Baby Keen and Kendrick Lamar, “Life is Good,” by Future, and “DNA,” By Kendrick Lamar, the intermediate dance team brought the house down with ‘Ten-Hut’, a dance that mimics a military-style sharp and clean hip hop moves and marches from choreographer Roya Sariaslani.
Pier 23 offers a bubbly dance with choreographer Ava Thornton bringing plenty of props to add to the prominent carnival theme. The dancers looked elated onstage with light movements to match the song “Surfing in Iceland,” by Goth Babe.
‘No Pain, No Gain’ uses music from “Pure Water" featuring Migos by Mustard from the album Pure Water with an intense hip-hop dance that includes tight and sharp movements that truly emphasize the title of the dance by choreographers Sophia Omiple, Lina Uchida and, Veronica Vigil.
The last song before intermission may be familiar to Maria Carrillo students as the dance ‘People Like You and Me’ was featured in the Student Voice assembly with choreography from senior Dana Borunda. The music “People Like Me” and “Fire Freetown,” by K’naan from the album Troubadour starts with a slow contemporary-like dance that quickly picks up the pace to a lively hip-hop dance to pair the change in music.
After the intermission, the entire intermediate dance class took the stage to perform choreography created by Dana Borunda in the dance ‘Hold On’ to the song “You Got Me,” by the Roots. Tarig Trotter, Erykah Badu, and Eve from the album Things Fall Apart.
‘I’m Only Human’, choreographed by Myrea Heaps using the song “Human,” by Rag’n’Bone Man from the album Human hints at a message of embracing one's imperfections, and the group dance numbers during the chorus focus on the central theme of humanity and it’s struggles.
Using the song ‘Jigsaw’, by Conan Gray, junior Chloe Johnson choreographed the dance ‘Picking Up the Pieces’ which features her in the beginning as a solo dancer with some other advanced team members joining afterward. Other than some aerial dance moves the dancer's sharp and stiff hand movements mimic that of a doll to add to the theme of the dance, which is facing the pressures of society.
Julia Bastianon and Sabrina Tristano choreographed the dance ‘Hot’ to Janet Jackson’s and Missy Elliot’s “BURNITUP!” mixed with Missy Elliot’s and Ciara’s ‘Lose Control’ from albums Unbreakable and The Cookbook.
Graduating seniors and dance team captains Haven Koehler and Taylor McGarva choreograph and perform the second duet ‘Leave It On the Floor’ using Jennifer Lopez’s “One the Floor” from the album Love?.
Tiffany Nguyen and Mel Flores piece together a graceful and stunning dance, ‘The Way It Was’ that features several dance partners to the song “Glimpse of Us,” by Joji. While the song is low in tempo and quite sad the dance is anything but boring. Instead, it captivates the audience with its elegant dance and use of a red piece of cloth that is used for several movements and accentuating the connection between the dancers.
Bill Weathers’s “Ain’t No Sunshine” from the album Just as I Am and Michael Buble’s “Feeling Good” from the album It’s Time is used to perform one of the final songs and as the advanced dance class piece. It’s choreographed by dance team captains Haven Kohler and Taylor McGarva who deliver a peppy and cheeky jazz dance.
After playing a slideshow that showcased the graduating seniors, they took the stage one last time to perform the collectively choreographed dance ‘I Will Survive’ to Gloria Gaynor’s “I Will Survive”.
After the show junior Moriah Barrett stated she “really loved it.” After a wonderful show, many seniors, realizing that this was their last show, teared up, and left the audience not only impressed with another outstanding performance but imprinted with the heartfelt experience.
