Student-choreographed show highlights contrast in movement.
The 14 contemporary pieces at the annual Danceworks, Shift … Change, proved that only hours of hard work could make dancing look so effortless.
Fast paced leaps, lunges, flings to the floor and grand lifts combined with modern takes on classical piano music, with lighting effects that varied between numbers.
Vibrantly colored costumes swirled while the dancers moved energetically to drumming music in Apos Ó Sol, a piece with a rythmic Caribbean feel.
Arvizu’s solo in Extricate showed strength and balance in every intricate movement within a small space surrounded by stone pebbles.
The dynamic teamwork shown by the Santa Ana College Dance Department, portraying edgy characters and simulating motions reminiscent of those found in nature, created imagery for members of the audience to interpret in their own way.
“In the end, all our time has been used in a good way,” said Cruz after the performance, satisfied with the show that took more than three months of about two-hour rehearsals daily.
Backstage, many of the dancers confessed that it is the adrenaline rush on stage that keeps them going.
“I’m gonna get there,” dancer and choreographer Gabriel Mata reminds himself.
No matter how hard they practice, they look to each other for inspiration.
“The dancers here are like family to me and the teachers are like moms,” Mata said.
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