PHOTO/ Madison Zhou Choreo advertises the Dance Concert on the Senior Circle during lunch on Jan. 21. They danced to different songs, such as “Moulin Rouge,” “Golden Hour” and “Renaissance.”
By Amy Ta,
Staff Writer
Students and parents alike filled the concert hall of the San Gabriel Mission Playhouse with their excited chatter. The warm, golden light from above contrasted with the cold night outside, adding more merriment to the entering audience. As the clock slowly ticked to 7 p.m., the luminous lights began to dim, followed by the hushes of the audience. A booming voice and a proud “Welcome!” signaled the beginning of the concert.
This year marked the comeback of the annual dance concert, which was canceled for the past three years due to COVID-19 restrictions. Choreo invited multiple groups to perform for the concert’s return on Jan. 27 titled “Legacies,” an homage to former Choreo Alumni.
Choreo
Choreo’s multiple performances consisted of many genres, including hip hop and contemporary. The songs they danced to consisted of bolder songs like “Moulin Rouge” to somber ones like “Broken.” Their vast diversity in dances came from former Choreo alumni, who they met and trained with during the summer of 2022 as they first began preparing for the concert.
“I grew up performing at the San Gabriel Mission Playhouse,” third-year Choreo member Chelsea Fung said. “I’ve been performing there since I was five-years-old, and the dance concert was my last time there, so it’s very nostalgic for me.”
Guard
Colorguard teams Green and Gold performed at the dance concert. Green danced to their melancholic pre-season song, “Not About Angels” by Birdy. Their performance used darker hues, like navy blues and silver to portray the wistful mood, while members tossed and spun flags, rifles and sabers to each other.
Gold performed a more hopeful dance to the song “Painter” by Norah Jones. Using France as a theme, members dressed in aprons slowly pretended to draw a girl with a red umbrella against a dark background. As the dance went on, more of the painting was revealed, until the very end where the group became the picture.
“It was our last dance concert,” Gold Captain Jacqueline Reyes said. “My friends and I were kinda bummed out, but we are looking forward to even more events in the future.”
Pep
With flags, In a series of twirls, partner exchanges, stunts, twirls and tosses, the group boosted audiences spirits with their upbeat music. Pep performed three dances to mixes of the songs “Girls Just Wanna Have Fun,” “T.G.I.” and “Bring It On.” The songs chosen matched the cheery and energetic atmosphere of the performance.
“It was fun performing on stage,” Pep Captain Sophia Chang said. “All of our hard work at every practice led up to this moment and there was a lot of energy from both the crowd and the rest of my team.”
K-Pop Dance Team
Audiences loudly cheered for the K-Pop Dance Team’s performance to a mix of “Wannabe” and “Guerilla.” Divided into two separate parts, the dance’s beginning took inspiration from the music video. The song and dance were upbeat, but as the song neared its end, the second group entered, contrasting the former atmosphere with a powerful dance. This contrast shocked and hyped up the audience.
“It felt really cool,” junior Nathaniel Leonard said. “I was looking at the audience, and they were like ‘Woah!’ It’s meant to be loud, wild, crazy and powerful.”
Boyz
This year’s slot for the Varsity Sport Boys opened up to any boy who wanted to participate. They danced to a mix of “Feeling Good” by Nina Simone.
Their dance, choreographed by Choreo Co-Captains Katie Lam, Ariel Chen and Emily Liu, had the boys do many of the same moves as the Choreo team with an addition of twerking, the worm and being carried in the air, all of which were met with bouts of laughter from the crowd.
“It was really nerve-racking when you first go up there,” sophomore Bryan Chen said. “But the crowd was cheering and supporting me, and I didn’t really expect that.”