By: Jocelyne Poblador
At first there are only two dancers. Blinding lights blaze when they run in from the sides and come together. Nina Simone croons in the background as dancers in black and white dresses soar through the air and swoop down on the dance floor. Broadway kicks and smiles soon take over in this improvised jazz club.
i Love Uonly is one of eight performances in the Santa Ana College Dance Department’s fall show Say It Loud!
The show avoids a central theme to allow choreographers creative freedom.
“We were trying to aim for a more upbeat mood for the concert. Plus that title relates to our dancers and us wanting them to dance in a way that is saying it loud,” dance professor Kari Jenson said.
One of Jenson’s pieces, Lean In, opens with a bare, black table in center stage.
A fusion of instrumental and hip-hop music plays as dancers in gray and black business attire prance onto the stage.
Performers communicate through tight fists crashing down on the table, only to have their “words” swept away by another dancer.
“I hope the audience can appreciate the creativity and the heart that goes into the work,” dancer Rachel Ackerman said.
Say It Loud! will be performed in the Phillips Hall Theatre Thursday, Friday and Saturday at 7:30 p.m. with a 2:30 p.m. matinee Saturday.
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