Telling Stories Through Dance

By Jocelyne Poblador

Seduction is the name of the game, and they’re winning. Dancers step into a spotlight, thrusting their hips and popping their butts in time with the music.

Women in sparkling mini-skirts and tops with hints of gliter on red fabric entice the audience at Elevate, this spring’s student choreographed show.

The program, which also features guest choreographer Saleemah Knight, represents about 240 hours of rehersal for the choreographers and 30 dancers.

The show includes a variety of jazz numbers as well as contemporary dances.

Each dance tells a story.

Dance Major Raul Martinez’s story tells how good girls have gone bad, so bad they killed their significant others.

This starts off innocently enough with dancers spinning on the toes of their black leather boots while lip-synching.

Then they regroup and branch out, again raising their arms to point at the audience as if in accusation of doing them wrong.

The girls leisurely move around the stage, thrusting their hips and strutting their stuff until the song ends and darkness surrounds them.

“For me this dance is movement for movement’s sake. I wanted to challenge myself so I did amusical theater-based dance,” Martinez said.