Alameda High School Dance presented a high-spirited Spring Showcase on May 22 and 23, featuring 90 intermediate and advanced dancers, including 32 graduating seniors. The showcase was directed by Rachel McCray Denton, who also choreographed the performance, along with many of the students.
The electric energy of the performers was infectious throughout the two-hour concert of jazz, hip-hop, lyrical, cabaret, and contemporary dance. The packed audience responded with screams and cheers throughout.
A new venue
With Kofman Auditorium under renovation, the dancers performed in the AHS gym, and McCray Denton was proud of how she and the students made it work.
“We had to work all year to create a theater-like experience in the gym,” she said. “I’m so thankful for Bert Blank (By the Bay Productions) and his guidance on doing this. He let us borrow lights and helped us get the correct sound equipment. PE teachers were also generous in letting us use their classroom space to prepare.”
Twenty minutes before the concert, a line snaked from the gym near the center of campus out to Central Avenue, with excited audience members carrying bouquets for their favorite dancers. Concert posters, designed by teacher Andrea Szeto’s Multimedia Art Class, were posted around campus. By 7:05 p.m., the gym was packed, and stragglers struggled to find seats.
Opening with a bang
And then, without preamble, the show opened with a bang, advanced dancers swarming onto the floor and up onto the stands on the opposite side of the gym to perform a high-energy cabaret dance choreographed by senior Anaya Simon set to Show Me How You Burlesque by Christina Aguilera. The gym, far more cavernous than a regular stage, afforded the dancers generous space to move unimpeded.
Next were two hip-hop pieces, Swagalicious and The Dre Groove. Choreographed by George Hughes in collaboration with the dancers and Sa’Ra Townsend, the dances were pure fun and youthful energy. The aptly named Between the Lines, a duet choreographed by dancers Zoe Kristana Malata and Derek Robolledo, captured the tension and unspoken intensity of a new relationship, while Night Flowers, choreographed by Maeve Rogers, evoked mystic femininity.
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Video by Karin K. Jensen.
Seeing the vision come to life
In rNA, choreographer Rin Ruvalcaba Garcia gave his hip-hop dancers a chance to shine as a group and as individuals in a freestyle circle, where dancers showcased their individual styles. “Seeing your vision come to life” was the best part of this experience, Garcia said.
Like Him, choreographed by Maddy Brooks and Safiyah Krishnan, featured a smooth, lyrical jazz style, while No One is Watching, choreographed by Abby Foley Hayton, Emma Langs Hazelton, and Sydney Mersch, was an ensemble contemporary dance gradually building in intensity, and then culminating in expansive joy and camaraderie.
Choreographers Valeria Aramburo and Leila Martinez Melo clearly had fun choreographing My Love, set to music by Justin Timberlake and inspired by Timberlake’s style of controlled, rhythmic movements with a seductive appeal.
Inclusivity and leadership
Then came a dance, APT, that Rachel McCray Denton choreographed to feature two dancers with special needs who were graduating seniors. The AHS Dance Program includes more than 200 students, so Level 1 dancers were not included in the concert. However, McCray Denton made an exception for these two dancers, allowing them to have a final performing experience in their senior year. One dancer’s mother, Tami Quan, shared that this was especially meaningful to her daughter, who was excited and grateful to participate.
Act 1 concluded with the lyrical jazz duet Homecoming, choreographed and danced by Wyatt Larsen and Kiana Zarehbin, followed by a large group jazz dance, Sunlight, choreographed by seniors Lauren Pace and Elizabeth Carr-Elkaim, who noted, “Seeing the finished product of all your hard work and dedication” was fulfilling.
For all of the student choreographers, the concert was an opportunity to expand from an individual dancer into a person who leads others in their creative vision, with all the frustration, anxiety, and satisfaction that entails. Diana Pace, mother of choreographer Lauren, shared that at one point, her daughter wasn’t sure she could pull off such a large ensemble dance. In the end, however, the piece came together beautifully, and Lauren said she enjoyed the choreography process “because it’s creatively fulfilling, and I love working with my friends.”
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An Alameda High School dance film. Created by director/choreographer Samantha Louise Feliciano and cinematographer Alana Meyers.
Creating connection
Act 2 featured a new endeavor for the AHS dance program—a riveting dance film, Definitions, created by director/choreographer Samantha Louise Feliciano and cinematographer Alana Meyers. The film enabled students to capture choreography from multiple locations and perspectives, captivating viewers.
Jocelyn Brown and Ariana Robinson choreographed Kiss-Kiss, an ensemble hip-hop dance featuring dance-off style turn-taking between groups. Sydney Marsh choreographed Girlhood, a duet capturing the joy, fun, misunderstandings, and poignancy of young friendship.
Friendship and connection were a frequent theme of the concert, choreographically, with dancers embracing at culminating points, and in what the dancers said about being part of the program. Dancer Eunice Stevenson noted, “I have enjoyed working with my friends doing something we all love and getting to see everyone perform.”
Escapism, choreographed by Karissa Pate, and Everybody Wants to Rule the World, by Emma Langs Hazelton, were dynamic jazz dances, the latter evoking feminine strength and intensity. By contrast, choreographer Jonathan Le crafted a playful pop piece, Summer of Us, poking fun at love-struck teenagers.
McCray Denton choreographed the large-ensemble hip-hop dance, That Thing. Next came the sizzling, flamenco-inspired dance De Aqui No Sales, choreographed by Sophia Barajas, which contrasted beautifully with the lyrical solo, Through My Eyes, by Chloe Chirrick. People Watching, choreographed by Natalie Wong, showcased the dancers’ beautiful balletic technique. Finally, Back on 74, a choreography by Shay Latukolan, adapted by McCray Denton, closed out the show with uptempo retro party vibes.
Emotions running high
By the end, dancers and audience alike were grinning ear-to-ear if they weren’t tearing up with emotion, everyone basking in the glow of a semester’s worth of effort brought to fruition.
“Dance programs in public schools don’t grow on trees everywhere,” said McCray Denton. “So this is really special that we have this program here at the school and that we have such a thriving program.” She capped the concert by recognizing over a dozen students who served on the tech crew, working all the behind-the-scenes magic. She highlighted graduating seniors individually, saying, “I feel a little extra emotional tonight because many of them, I’ve seen them grow up the last four years.”
In an era when youth are increasingly tethered to cyberspace, it was fantastic to see students fully engaged in dynamic physicality, creative expression, and in-person connection. Afterward, dancers hugged, cried, took photos, and welcomed bouquets from their admirers.
“These are some of the smartest, sweetest, most creative kids there are,” McCray Denton said, “and I do have a lot of hope for the next generation.”
Contributing writer Karin K. Jensen covers boards and commissions for the Alameda Post. Contact her via [email protected]. Her writing is collected at https://linktr.ee/karinkjensen and https://alamedapost.com/Karin-K-Jensen.
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