The end of the spring semester is near and the Mesa College Dance Company celebrated that fact with a bright and diverse dance production. With summer on the horizon, “Our Stories” filled the spring air with a colorful contrasting glow of intoxicating dances from MTV style urban hip-hop to rock ‘n’ roll infused ballet.
With three different categories covering issues concerning life, family, and the always present struggles of love and relationships, all the students and staff involved in “Our Stories” made for an interesting performance that conjugated many different styles of dance which seemed to overlap each other into an effortless state of unification.
“Our Stories” premiered on May 1 at the Lyceum Theatre in Horton Plaza, and played for three consecutive days. It was produced by the students, alumni, and dance faculty of Mesa College.
The broad range of “Our Stories” included 17 different short routines that made for a unique and assorted setting that always kept the audience in suspense to what would be next. From the up beat “California Dreamin” to the contemporary ballet routine titled “Cydonia” which blared rock and roll music and amazed the soul with its allegro tempos and beautifully elegant dancers prancing on the stage, “Our Stories” stole the stage and captivated the audience.
Poet Amy Culley, whose poem “Normal Heights” was published in last years “Mesa Visions,” was selected by dance director and choreographer Jan Ellis for one of the somber yet mindful performances in Act I.
Culley’s truthful yet sober memories of her childhood growing up in Normal Heights, which she likes to refer as “North Park,” turns our attention to the harsh realities of growing up with an alcoholic father. In juxtaposition, with poet and dancer isolated by two adoring stage lights within a very dark and bleak background, Culley spun her creative vision and gave the audience a view of her sometimes chaotic past growing up in a yellow house with chipped paint, an old porch and a dog named Sierra.
Overall, it was a good performance produced by the Mesa College Dance Company even though some of the dance costumes seemed a little lackluster. Nonetheless, the Mesa Dance Company pulled off the task of choreographing so many different unique and individual routines and made it entertaining enough to keep the audience in their seats.
“Our Stories” is an expression of what is most important to all of us: family, love, and the journey of life. This was the prevailing theme of this production and it gave a warm and sometimes hidden view into the window of our souls.