The youth company of the Gibsons Dance Centre burst into its 2023 performance season with two dazzling showcases last week that played to full houses.
The performance company and competitive team previewed work at the Heritage Playhouse in Gibsons that will appear in upcoming dance competitions throughout southwest B.C.
The ensemble’s Spring Showcase performances demonstrated thematic diversity that is one of the group’s core strengths. Both nights opened with Land of All, an emotional tribute to inclusiveness featuring the 15 members of the senior youth company. The piece was choreographed by Zoe Barbarao, the studio’s assistant director.
“A lot of times kids will want to do a dance that speaks to an issue that they feel passionately about,” said Barbarao. “Usually there’s quite a storyline. Sometimes when you’re at competitions, the adjudicators will ask a dancer: what was your story? Sometimes it’s a little obscure; it may be experiential. But you can always sense the emotion.”
Radical acceptance was a common expression of the showcase repertoire. The first act concluded with an all-hands-on-deck contemporary number, each dancer revealing a sign to collectively spell the message Be Who You Are.
The steely determination of each dancer occasionally broke into euphoric grins. A satisfied smile crept across the face of Darrow Purjue at the conclusion of a hip hop duo, Battle, delivered alongside Henrik Cottrell. In a pastoral number by the youth company, Willow, green-garlanded dancers mouthed the words to the recorded music.
A selection of classical ballet and lyrical solos complemented large group numbers. In Astronomy, Anabelle Topcu-Doering delivered a plaintive tribute to the cosmos, using a white scarf to evoke the whorl of galaxies. Accompanied by a simple piano melody, ballet soloist Julia Stansfield cast a spell en pointe in La Fille Mal Gardée.
Immediately afterward, the mood shifted with an electric duo rendition of Mr. Bones by tap dancers Johnathan Lowis Holliday and Elizabeth Mani. A later tap solo by Kerstin Reznick channelled the elusive character Carmen San Diego with rapid-fire costume changes and soulful glances.
Soloist Kaylee Meadowcroft delivered an emotional narrative through a contemporary dance titled Leave a Light On, in which she illuminated an antique lantern at the culmination of her piece.
Peter Reznick demonstrated his ease with ballet and lyrical forms, then earned thunderous applause for a solo appearance in the high-energy jazz number Black Car. Reznick wore a sequin-covered jacket that transformed the nimble dancer into a high-flying starburst.
Musical theatre numbers included Taya Bruce and Tlell Purjue delivering a comical number from The Producers, dressed as mustachioed curmudgeons expressing skepticism about Broadway-style revues. Georgia Barbaro and Emaline Urban skittered onstage in furry bear outfits for Scare Bears, a hip hop twist on the saccharine 1980s television series.
“We always say we’re a family,” added Barbarao. “I know that’s relevant to all studios, but I feel like they are really passionate and they really, really love what they’re doing to fulfill their passion.”
The showcase reunited many dancers from the studio’s eight-show run of The Nutcracker in December, including Connor Dixon and Eibhlin Minatsis. The duo reprised a contemporary number titled Solid Ground, which originally debuted on Anti-Bullying Day.
Members of the Gibsons Dance Centre will next appear in the upcoming Coastal Dance Festival on April 22 and 23, at the Raven’s Cry Theatre.
