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LBCC showcase of talents by choreographers and dancers

By Sam Villa

With passions on display, student and faculty choreographers brought together a series of ten dances ranging in concepts and cultures on April 19 in LBCC’s auditorium, creating diverse reactions in the crowd.

The event started by letting audience members tune into a talk with the choreographers of the dances.

Each dance and song brought various emotions to each viewer’s eyes as every performance differed in storytelling types and topics, some very sensitive for viewers.

Dancers in “Joy” choreographed by Stephanie Powell show their soul in a gospel-like performance this Friday. This was one of 10 dances to appear on Friday during the Dance Showcase at Long Beach City College. (Sam Villa)

“This represents life, real life, and we are not afraid to step out and put the truth on the stage without a single word, but so much is transferred from our bodies into your lap,” said Professor and choreographer Stephanie Powell.

The first two dances were intense and darkness fell over the audience, one even used the sounds of old mental asylum recordings in the backtrack for “It Begins” by student choreographer Emmanuel Hernandez, where dancers in straight jackets struggled on stage.

“It started as an instrumental, you hear some vocal verses of films that are from times of mental institutions, their training videos,” said Hernandez.

Adamis Goodman performs in “In My Room” choreographed by Danna Molina. This was one of 10 dances to appear on Friday during the Dance Showcase at Long Beach City College. (Sam Villa)

The next three songs before the intermission kept a light tone to the viewers, switching from modern-sounding music to a more classical tone in the last of them.

Viewers laughed as they saw depictions of squabbles between dancers in “Scare Blue!” by Kiara Kinghorn and watched dancers move languidly across the stage in “Nostalgia” by student choreographer Micheal Miller.

“Covid hit, and when we came back from Covid I put together two more versions of the piece, it took some time, and I finally found what I wanted,” said Miller

Gwen Castilian stands her ground performing in “Rules Are Meant To Be Broken: I Wanna Be Bad” choreographed by Jessica Torres. This was one of 10 dances to appear on Friday during the Dance Showcase at Long Beach City College. (Sam Villa)

After intermission, “Tinik-Inspi-Ling” by Professor Martha L.Z. Pamintuan began, which was inspired by tinikling, a traditional Philippine folk dance where dancers hopped over large sticks in unison with their partners.

In “Rules Are Meant To Be Broken: I Wanna Be Bad” choreographed by Jessica Torres, dancers sway their way on stage to artists such as Billie Holiday. This was one of 10 dances to appear on Friday during the Dance Showcase at Long Beach City College. (Sam Villa)

“My husband is Filipino and we have been together for 20 years with our daughter, so it was a way to celebrate our family and our diverse culture,” said Pamintuan.

The showcase continued with four last songs ranging from older soul and jazz variations to hip-hop and modern songs such as “I’m Tired” by Labrinth ft. Zendaya, which brought the audience to tears.

“When you talk about street styles and hip hop, it not easy, you go from tutting to all kinds of waving to footwork, and they stepped up to the plate and got it done,” said Professor Cyrian Reed, who choreographed “Streetwize” for the showcase.

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