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Volume 38 Issue 4
October 17, 2000

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Dance company prepares for Broadway-themed show

BY JORDAN CURRIER
MESA LEGEND
Submitted October 17, 2000

Giant fans blow cool air into a stuffy dance room. Dancers pull back their hair and exhale, preparing themselves for yet another run-through of “It’s a Hard Knock Life” from the musical “Annie.”

The music kicks in and girls take their cue to begin dancing.

Then, a Broadway classic turns urban as rapper Jay-Z’s adaptation of the song begins to blare out of the speakers. Conservative dance moves turn funky, as fellow dancers observe and cheer.

This is a common scene at just one of many dance rehearsals that members of MCC’s dance company must endure. The dancers are preparing for their as-yet-untitled dance show which will run two nights in November.

Dancers stop to make corrections, collaborate ideas with each other and to rest.

	Jim Allen/MESA LEGEND
	Tiffany Tipton and Jill Stevenson, members of MCC's dance company, practice the Broadway number "All That Jazz" for the company's forthcoming fall dance show. Many dance numbers for this year's show take a strong influence from famous Broadway musicals, including 'Chicago,' 'Evita' and 'The Lion King,' among others. Nearly every dance features student choreography.

“The show’s about a trip through New York through the Broadway musicals,” said Tina Rangel, an eight-year MCC dance instructor and a third-year director of MCC’s annual dance show.

“Every semester we try to do something original. We don’t want to take something and copy it. I try to do things I think the girls are going to enjoy and have fun with.” 

Rangel noted that she is taking on the directing reigns by herself, while a majority of the dances are choreographed by students. “It’s always really stressful and time consuming and all that,” Rangel said. “But I want them to have fun and to walk away with a sense of accomplishment and that they’ve learned something.”

“We’re almost done learning all the dances,” said Tiffany Tipton, dance major and member of the company, on the progress of the dance show thus far. “Now we have to kind of clean them up and make sure that we’re all together and it’ll look good.”

Each member of the company must learn as many as eight dances, while a new dance is taught each week. “Rehearsal week is killer,” dance student Erin Scannell said.

“We really have to watch what we eat, what we do. Some people just don’t have what it takes.”

“Each dance is about three-to-five minutes,” said Kamillah Browning, a first-year member of MCC’s dance company. “It’s a lot of choreography to attain and keep in your mind.”

Kortnee McCarthy, also a member of the company, enjoys collaborating with fellow students on constructing dances. “The thing I like about it is we all do the choreography,” McCarthy said. “It’s good because we get to see a lot of different styles.”

While several MCC dance instructors and guest choreographers are stepping in to help choreograph dances, virtually every number will feature student-originated choreography.

Scannell more than enjoys her experiences with MCC’s dance company. “I love to perform,” Scannell said. “I’ve done it since I was four. I don’t ever want to stop.”

The dance show will run Nov. 9-10 at 7:30 at the Theatre Outback. For ticket information, call 461-7170.

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