New Dancers Fresh Faces

Movement /Students Laura Moran, Brianna Reyes, Liliana Ramirez and Ray Ynciertl showcase contemporary styles / Liz Monroy / el Don

Theatrical group performances animate big dreams for fall concert

By Liz Monroy

Dance chairperson Heather Gillette had to rely on inexperienced dancers to meet the number of students needed to pull off nine performances in this fall’s dance department program Dream Big.

“Every student deserves an opportunity. Our job is to provided experiences,” Gillette said.

About 30 students are involved in the production of the show, choreographed with the help of eight Santa Ana College professors.

For the showcase all numbers will be performed in groups, with no solo numbers.

One piece by professor Allison Hart, titled Carbon and Water, melds unconventional dance moves while peppering the performances with heavy symbolism. Another sequence depicts a moth venturing too close to the looming lights of a disco ball.

“It’s kind of a journey for each individual person looking for love or something to be attracted to, and not really finding it,” Hart said.

The dance breaks away from normal circular movements to strange and unexpected ones that express different stories.

“I did a lot of this dance based on improvisation that they actually created, so a lot of these dances are from them, not me teaching them steps,” Hart said.

Another number stands apart from all the others. It starts with dancers talking to the audience about having dreams. The performers move back and forth, at one point undressing while dancing.

“It’s a different kind of style which brings out the best in all of us,” freshman Jocelyn Lopez said.

Dream Big premieres at SAC’s Phillips Hall Theatre on Thursday. Performances run through Saturday, at 7:30 p.m., with a matinée Friday at 2:30 p.m. Tickets will be sold at the door.