The Mountain View College Fall Dance Recital was, once again, a success.
With performances by two groups – the MVC Dance Company and the Latin Performance class – choreography was challenging, according to John Merrifield, director. But by weekends' end, the recital had gone "exceptionally" well, Merrifield said.
"Providing choreography for our dance productions is always a challenge due to the various levels of dance training of our students," he said. "We are fortunate to have several new talented students this semester and I was able to increase the level of difficulty of the choreography. All of our students responded amazingly well and gave beautiful performances."
According to Merrifield, one of the tenants of the program is to celebrate diversity in dance at MVC, with guest artists providing a learning opportunity for students to observe and interact with professional dancers and choreographers. This year, local high school companies were also invited to perform.
"As part of our young dance artist program, we were able to feature high school dance companies to showcase their talented students, and to introduce them to the MVC community as potential future MVC dance students," Merrifield said.
Students were put through a strenuous schedule: Thirty to thirty-five additional hours of rehearsal on top of their regular class schedule. The payoff, though, was an exceptional show, Merrifield said.
"Fortunately, the students will now have more time to prepare for their final exams and papers, and I believe all of them look forward to getting some rest over the holiday break," he said.
The Copa
Latin Dance Performance Class: Brenda Rebollar, Lauryn Duncan, Ricardo Garduno, Hilda Salazar, Lilly Rives, Damian Duncan, Elizabeth Palacio, Cesar Lechuga, Leandra Bevans
Lighting Design: Nikki DeShea Smith
Video Design: Randy Clower
Remembrance
MVC Dance Company: Lucero Sanchez, Keisha Edwards, Brenda Rebollar, Leandra Bevans, Maddy Wilkins, T'keyah Cleveland, Anamaria Gomez, Jelani Moreno, Abigail Trapp
Lighting Design: Nikki DeShea Smith
Video Design: Randy Clower
Showcase Guest Performers
Richard Freeman, Jr.
SOL Ballet Folklorico
Whitney Hart Weaver
Precious Harris
Sunset High School Dance
Moises E. Molina High School Dance
Grand Prairie High School Dance
