Success was an appropriate title for the four-performance show last weekend from Coast Academy of Dance’s (CAD) hundreds of students. In a fast-paced three hours, dancers from tiny preschool ballerinas to mature stiletto jazz dancers performed all disciplines of their art. Variations on the story of the Wizard of Oz became the theme that knitted the show together.
The pre-professional dancers dotted the show throughout, exhibiting their growing mastery and providing a role model for the younger ones. They were all great, but two of them stood out for me: the wicked witch performed by pre-professional Cora Nelson dominated the first half, and in an unusual twist of choreography during the piece Witchcraft, she tap-danced in harmony with a stage of young ballerinas. Zofia Baturin, another pre-pro, demonstrated her ability en pointe and her spot-on rhythm in the solo piece Dangerous.
The competition pieces were good examples of why the students earned their laurels when competing last April. The adult competition piece, Can’t Touch Me, choreographed by Ivana Cappelletto, was a good example. And so was the junior competition jazz that opened the show, the street jazz and the advanced tap, particularly Start Spreading the News, choreographed by Christina Fitchett. The Flying Monkeys piece by Terra Dannes and Christine Fitchett was not listed as competition, but it should have been, as it allowed the modern dancers as well as the teen acrobats to show their talents. Zero to Hero got my vote for cuteness. Junior dancers surrounded a tiny boy super hero in a piece by Astrid Eckerle.
From the audience’s perspective, the show moved along seamlessly – helped greatly by some dramatic scene changes. After the adult tap had finished their Let’s Dance With Bowie (Kristie Sita choreography), the stage went dark and a group of masked modern dancers suddenly appeared in an edgy piece, Victory.
The Spring Waters pas de deux by ballet instructor Kathleen Holmes and Nutcracker dancer Diego Ramalho drew a jaw-dropping wow from the audience. Before the show, Holmes had expressed doubts about dancing a difficult piece that she had first learned many years ago, but when she flew into Ramalho’s upheld arms she was clearly and literally at the top of her game.
The 2016 CAD graduating class performed a lovely piece. As they hugged one another and sang the title of the piece, Nowhere I’d Rather Be, the audience could see that they truly meant it.
Although the CAD’s regular schedule takes a break for the summer, other workshops will continue. Cardio Cabaret’s summer drop-in takes place on Mondays (Ivana: 604-999-9276) and ACRO Summer Camp is taking registration now for July and August sessions ([email protected]). A Summer of Classical Ballet begins July 18 for two levels of dancers ([email protected]) and Sammie Broomhall is organizing her annual Summer Wake Up Workshop for August in various fitness and dance disciplines (summerwakeup.com). See www.coastdance.com for more about September’s schedule.
