LBCC’s Spring Dance Ensemble featured student dancers and two student choreographers debuting their emotional work at the Furjanak Sandberg Auditorium in Long Beach this past weekend.
The opening number, Tuvanian Rap Dance, exhibited great spatial awareness from dancers as they weaved in and out of lines creating constant movement throughout the upbeat dance.
Dressed in bright yellow dresses and white leggings, the dancers lassoed and whipped their way to the unique music which resembled a sort of Turkish country sound.
The piece, choreographed by faculty staff Arlene Bracket, included quirky movement as unique as the music.
The dancers shined most during the intricate floorwork that involved flexibility as they glided in and out middle splits into a seated leg extension.
After opening with an upbeat number, student choreographers each took the audience somewhere personal.
“Resonant Light”, choreographed by Dance Major Levi Christiansen, began with five dancers in a circle, laying outwards in child’s pose.
While a spotlight covered them in a soft white circle of light, the rest of the stage was cloaked in darkness.
“My piece is about being seen and allowing yourself to be seen. Trusting other people and trusting yourself to be vulnerable.I think it’s very easy to stay in the dark and I think a lot of people do,” Christiansen said.
The dancers remained in the circle for the entirety of the dance, reacting to the light on their skin, unsure of what to about it at first.
When they did attempt to leave the circle, they would recoil back from the darkness that surrounded the spotlight.
Eventually the dancers embraced the light, swirling about the circumference of the circle to meet in the middle and literally drink it up in unison as the music crashed around them.
Perhaps the most striking costumes of the night, student choreographer Joshua Snels piece, featured his own music with a written monologue at the beginning.
“When I first made this piece, I added a monologue so people could understand what it was about, I needed the audience to understand that it was about them,” Snels said.
Snel, dressed in thick robe of different green fabrics and textures, he had face paint and horns on as if to depict Mother Nature herself.
After moving through the monologue, Snels stood on top of a rock and like a puppet master, manipulated his two groups of dancers.
The first, dressed neck to foot in white a blue with flowy wings and the second, in feather vests and animal skin kilts.
The crux of the piece involved both groups battling one another, with some stage fighting but mainly hard hitting and thrash movements.
“Mother Nature gave us her skin, her blood, her bones, her back to live on. We choose to use more than Mother Nature has allowed us. We don’t think about it this and now we are already passed a point where we’ve used more resources that have been granted to us,” Snels said.
For most of the faculty numbers, the emphasis was on character and partner work.
The 1950’s styled piece “You & Me” choreographed by Erin Landry, was backed by a big band number and the dancer’s lively performance did not disappoint.
“Fortuitous Possibility” by dance faculty member, Sarah Cashmore, told the story of lovers constantly crossing paths until they joined hands in the end and were left alone on the stage as the rest of the dancers exited.
Despite the obvious technical training and emphasis on partnering, the department as a whole lacks a togetherness needed for stage performances.
The larger group numbers had energy and performance, but many of the dancers were not hitting the same angles and lines in unison.
The standout performance of the night was ballerina Carmella Casabella who performed a beautiful en pointe solo titled Extending From Trees, that broke away from the norms of typical ballet.
Choreographed by artistic director, Martha Paminutan, the ballerina weaved effortlessly through her pirouettes into pictures with flexed feet and broken wrists.
After tapping across stage en bourree, she finished the dance with a riveting turn sequence that garnered the largest applause of the evening.
“For shows, the choreographers tend propose what they want to put on stage. We have ten to thirteen faculty and most of them propose, and then myself and my colleague Stephanie Powell sit and sort through proposals. We decide what makes sense for variety and diversity in the show. Everything they propose is always great, but we also want to think about the audience and entertain them as well as show them different styles of dance,” Paminutan said.
The opportunity to submit proposals themselves helped the student choreographers’ step into their own creative and personal power.
“Having doubt from last semester and then moving into this semester helped me become more me. By honoring my body and giving myself the freedom to explore how I wish helped me reclaim my space. When I’m out and about, I break social norms, I do things different. If I feel tension in the room, I break out of it. Personally, I’ve gotten more confident as a person I think it’s really validating to know that you are human and no matter what create, it’s good” said Christiansen when describing his experience leading up to the show.
The only drawback from the show was the abnormally long wait time between curtains, which was surprising as most props involved were four chairs for “Strut”, a piece that opened the second act.
Regardless, the ensemble showcased a diverse array of dancers that each exhibited a passion for their craft.
The show was complemented by an amazing production team that brought the numbers to life with top notch lighting and images.
Artistic director Paminutan encourages everyone to attend to the shows and audition for the classes.
“The beauty of dance and the art form is to be inspired. It’s not about age or size or gender or sexual whatever, you can all do it and that’s what we want to do is inspire people get up and try. Everyone can do it you just have to try,” Martha
The dance department holds two ensembles each year, one in the Fall and the other in the Spring.
Students interested in dancing or choreographing with the LBCC Dance Department can register for Summer 2019 classes now.
The Fall 2019 schedule is online, and open registration begins May 13.
Fall ensemble student choreographer auditions are Thursday, May 16 at 4:30 p.m. in LAC Q-113.
Fall ensemble dancer auditions are Thursday, August 29 at 6:00 p.m. at LAC-113.