This is not your ordinary high school dance concert.
“Welcome to My World” is this spring’s offering at Culver City High School from the Academy of Visual and Performing Arts’ Danger Zone Dance Project Dance Company.
The four-night/day run that starts on Thursday at the Robert Frost Auditorium, on campus, spotlights an array of faculty and student choreography, including dance theater, modern jazz, hip hop, ballet, and an electrifying sample of world dance forms.
“Welcome to My World” refers to the home and heart of the dancer.
For some, home is the studio, the place where the dancer tirelessly practices the dance. For others, “home” considers and reflects on family, friends, and neighborhood. The audience will be welcomed into the theater space and will become a part of the dancers’ world throughout this evening of exceptional dance work.
“Often in a dance concert, dancers are represented as one-dimensional performers, people who move across the stage in predetermined patterns,” says AVPA Artistic Director Julie Carson states. “I’m very excited about this concert because we have prepared a program that represents the students as multi-faceted individuals.
“They are young people who move in different ways, who have preferences about their favorite forms of dance, and who have unique ways of expressing themselves and the concept of ‘home.’ Their dances represent conceptual studies as well as their response to a multitude of musical choices.
“Many of the solos were originally developed in a choreography class in the fall. The work is imaginative and personal. The dancers will also serve as ambassadors to different cultures, especially in the Salsa and Afro-Brazilian numbers. I’m excited about these dances, especially as we’ve been fortunate to work with some very special artists from outside of the Academy. Each student and each dance brings something unique and inspiring to stage.”
As in years past, this year’s spring concert will offer a multi-disciplinary presentation, as Carson takes advantage of the many talents of her dancers. Several of the AVPA dancers are involved in other disciplines. There are singers and actors who dance, and all of their talents will be used to bring the stage to life in this performance.
Following a two-year tradition, the concert will offer a twist from the usual dance concert format.
The program will be presented as an “evening-length work” that will feature dances seamlessly woven with unique and interesting theatrical transitions, creating a special evening of dance theater.
“Welcome to My World” runs Thursday, Friday and Saturday evenings at 7, and on Sunday at 1. The Robert Frost Auditorium is at 4401 Elenda St. Admission is $12 general and $8 for ASB, faculty, seniors and children under 12. Tickets can be purchased at the door 30 minutes before each performance. See avpa.org
