Some 30 CLC dance students and community members take the stage on Dec. 2 and 3 to present a variety of professionally choreographed theatrical dances ranging from hip-hop to jazz to contemporary to classical.
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CLC dance instructor Valerie Alpert said more than 30 dancers showed up for auditions and she cast them all. “It was a really good surge of students auditioning,” she said.
Alpert and guest professional choreographers are teaching steps to the performers.
Andy Anisco will be a featured student choreographer and dancer.
“He’s amazing,” Alpert said. “He does hip-hop, but he’s also lyrical.”
Hip-hop refers to a particular culture related to street dancing. “It’s very individualistic. People show off their own personal style,” Alpert said. “A lot of hip-hop is done to the same kind of repeated rhythm pattern.
“What I like about Andy’s choreography is that he does the rhythms, but he also goes against that rhythm in a lyrical way. That’s why his work is so interesting. He’s also very acrobatic. He uses martial arts in his choreography.”
Anisco is dancing to the music “Overdose” by Chris Brown and Agnez Mo. He’s entitled his choreographed solo “Living Life Blind.”
Anisco said he started dancing when he was 7 years old. “I didn’t really have a social life growing up,” he said. “I had hard times trying to fit in with people and making friends.
“I figure that dance was the only way I can communicate with others and fit in. Dance has always been my passion, my love and part of my life. I’m just thankful that I get to be part of the dance department in CLC. I just want to able to express myself and give people a show,” he said.
Charles “Buzzy” Brown from Wisconsin, a hip-hop choreographer, has worked with CLC dance students in the past. “We brought him back because students absolutely love him,” Alpert said. “They like his choreography and it just resonates with them. They’re young. He’s young.”
Joan Nicholas-Walker, a college dance professor in North Carolina, is working on a jazz trio with three students. Each student performs a solo, but they also dance together. As with many jazz styles of dance, this piece involves high leg kicks and turns, Alpert said.
Alpert also is collaborating with guest choreographer Ivan Flores to create a dance in three sections with a large cast. The piece beings with a Latin artist singing a French song, then Flores continues with a cumbia, a Latin style of music and dance, followed by the samba. Flores owns LatinoXpressions, a dance studio in Round Lake.
Alpert is also choreographing a piece called “My Apologies Mozart.” The first section includes music from Mozart’s Requiem written in 1791, but then goes to a reinvention of the piece by the contemporary group, Apashe.
Classical musicians might not like the new rendition, she said. “But it’s an artistic choice,” Alpert said. The choreography is inspired by the gestures made by music conductors and features four dancers.
Alpert has been planning and programming these shows for more than 20 years.
“There’s nothing like live dance,” Alpert said. “The energy is different. It reaches out and touches you in a different way.”
Winter Dance Concert
When: 7:30 p.m. Dec. 2 and 3, 2 p.m. Dec. 3
Where: James Lumber Center, 19351 Washington Ave., Grayslake
Tickets: $10 for adults, $3 for children accompanied by adults
Information: 847-543-2300; clcillinois.edu/aboutclc/depts/jlc
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Sheryl DeVore is a freelance reporter for the News-Sun.