2019 Dance Team Performance

Dance 1: Age of Aquarius

Hair debuted on Broadway in 1968, during the time of both the Civil Rights Movement and the Vietnam War. The youth of America, especially those on college campuses, started protesting against the things they saw wrong with the country: racism, environmental destruction, sexism, political corruption, and violence. The musical broke new ground in musical theatre by defining the genre of “rock musical” and using a racially integrated cast. Hair tells the story of the “tribe” a group of politically active, long-haired hippies of the “Age of Aquarius” living a bohemian life in New York City and fighting against being drafted into the war. The opening number welcomes everyone into the dawning of a new age.

Dance 2: Salsa

Hispanic in origin, salsa has experienced variations through the years, including elements of Afro-Caribbean and Afro-Cuban dances. Salsa is composed of a variety of dance styles, including cha-cha, mambo, merengue, rhumba, and many others. It was not until the 1930s that salsa was born as a result of different Hispanic cultures coming together in the United States.

Dance 3: You Can’t Stop the Beat

It’s 1962 in Baltimore, Maryland and quirky, plus-sized teenager, Tracy Turnblad has one dream - to dance on the Corny Collins Show! While serving detention with some African American kids from her school, Tracy learns their dance moves and her new-found groove lands her a spot on the show! Overnight, Tracy transforms from a nobody to a superstar and uses her influence to advocate for racial integration on the television show. Tracy faces bullying and scrutiny from the network producer but overcomes the odds to integrate the show! Tony award-winning Hairspray continues to be one of the most widely produced musicals today, not only because of its wit and charm but also because of the beautiful message of acceptance and progress that it portrays. The bright, energetic story of Tracy Turnblad teaches us all to look past the color of one’s skin or the size of one’s body and fight for every human being’s equal

rights.

Dance 4: Midnight (Tap)

Tap dance is part of America’s social fabric. A unique form of percussive dance born in America out of African and European traditions tap evolved alongside the American music that would become known as jazz. Tap dance is the original street dance. In the 1930s, tap dancers would gather on city street corners to trade steps and challenge one another. According to teacher and dance historian, Andrew Nemr, the real purpose of tap dance is to spread joy. The VA dancers were new to tap this year, but quickly learned not only the basic steps, but the fun of making music with their feet, and want to share the joy with you.

Dance 5: Out Tonight

Rent is a rock musical loosely based on Puccini’s opera La bohème. It tells the story of a group of impoverished young artists struggling to survive and create a life in Lower Manhattan’s East Village under the shadow of HIV/AIDS. Rent is also Devin Goldstein’s favorite musical, and this next piece is his debut as a choreographer. This fall, Devin did an independent activity focused on choreography. He learned about what it takes to put together the sequence of steps and movements that make a dance and choreographed a complete solo piece. One of Devin’s goals was to create and teach a dance to the winter dance team. While doing this, he learned what it takes to communicate and teach his vision to a group of his peers. When asked to describe the dance, his response was “reckless abandon”.

Dance 6: Trashin’ the Campus

Washed up on the shores of Africa, an infant boy is taken in and raised by gorillas who name him Tarzan. Apart from striving for acceptance from his ape father, Tarzan’s life is mostly monkey business until a human expedition treks into his tribe’s territory and he encounters creatures like himself for the first time. Tarzan struggles to navigate a jungle, thick with emotion, as he discovers his animal upbringing clashes with his human instincts. At the top of Act Two, the gorillas have wandered into where humans have set up camp. It becomes a rather raucous party, complete with wild dancing and trashing the camp.

The dancers and coaches want to thank our dedicated, talented teachers and choreographers: Sarah Franklin, Carolina Parente, Jorge O'Farrill, Gretchen Abendschein, and Kristen Leach.