Last Thursday, Friday, and Saturday dancers in the Dance IV classes of Whitney and Rocklin High School came together in a collaborative dance show known as 4WRD.  The dances showcased a wide variety of styles including lyrical, Bollywood, acro-jazz, jazz, point, etc.  It was about one hour and forty-five minutes but it didn’t seem long enough.

Emily:  I was so impressed with both schools.  Rocklin and Whitney dancers have both spent months working toward their show, and it really did come together nicely.  There was a great amount of variety among the dances, and each was completely unique.  Some of the styles, such as Bollywood have never been done by Rocklin High School dancers.  The creativity of the choreographers really showed through in the dances.

Rachel: The diversity was my favorite part. It brought many cultures together. Each school’s take on different ethnicities and styles was intriguing. It is what made this 4wrd show better than the others.  I also liked that, along with the different cultures such as Irish or Indian, there were dances about current struggles in our society, that told a deep meaningful stories. There was a difference between the levels of emotion in the two schools on how they executed this concept.

Emily:  I totally agree with your last thought.  Although both Rocklin and Whitney have exceptional dancers, Rocklin’s stage presence far exceeded that of Whitney’s dancers.  Our dancers filled their movements with emotion and power.  Each turn and each leap had a purpose and a meaning.  There were no empty movements in any of the dances.  The dancers projected outward and truly used their whole body to tell the story of the dance.  In contrast, Whitney dancers simply did the dance.  Although they all executed the moves and displayed great talent, it just wasn’t the same.  While Whitney dancers performed the moves, Rocklin dancers were the moves.  Their whole bodies went into each movement, and it really made a difference.

Rachel: Exactly, Whitney High School’s dancers are amazing advanced dancers, however, Rocklin’s dancers perform at a higher level. Whitney’s dancers are very talented when it comes to how to do a dance move, however, in a dance show, people are not always looking for that. Eyes are drawn to the best performers, sometimes even more than the best dancers. The way dancers put themselves into a move is what makes the performance and paints the picture. While both displayed this, I believe, that Rocklin focused on this more than Whitney.

Emily: One of the best dances done by Rocklin dancers was ‘Skin and Bones’ choreographed by Lexie Di Bella.  I had chills as I viewed the tragic story of a young girl who is bullied, and eventually commits suicide.  The dance really hit me, and I know it had the same impact on the rest of the crowd.  As the spotlight hit Marlise Dizon and she leapt off the ledge, the audience went silent.  Marlise truly personified a victim of bullying.  Her facial expressions were to a point.  As she danced across the stage, struggling to move forward against the opposing movements of other dancers, her whole body projected a desperate character.  There was so much emotion on stage, from anger, to hatred, to deep regret and guilt.  When the dance ended I was left with a clear picture in my head of Marlise, as she took one last look at the audience and jumped.

Rachel: I am one for technique. When I see a technical dance I tend to like it most. I was drawn to the dance ‘Turned to Stone’. It caught my attention when I saw girls coming on with their phones. My first thought was, Why does that girl have her phone on stage? As the dance continued, my brain started clicking. I was trying to figure out the message portrayed by this beautiful dance. I started to believe that the song was intending to portray that our society has been more and more addicted to cellular devices, social media websites, and other technology related objects. Our thoughts and actions are ‘turning to stone’ because we are constantly being desensitized by the world. The girls had flexed feet in parts of the dance the dance, which gave it more of a contemporary feel. The floor-work was so pretty and in unison. My favorite part of the whole dance – I’m getting chills just thinking about it – was the sudden pause as the song said, “turning to stone.” All the dancers paused and posed looking at their phones then BAM! the music sped up; the girls started dancing quick and powerfully. In the end, the lights dimmed and the dancers turned their phone lights on. This was such a good ending. It left my mouth hanging open.

Emily: I was so impressed with Tucker Gandy.  I saw him last year in the advanced dance show and could not believe how much he had improved.  His technique was excellent.  Every turn was executed perfectly, especially his fuertes.  His legs were so strong and elegant as he turned.  I could tell that he had worked hard the past few years, because it really showed in his dancing. In each dance that he was in, my eye was immediately drawn to him.  He had great showmanship including an awesome stage presence and amazing facials and it really made him stand out as a dancer.

Rachel: My eyes were constantly drawn to Kira. They she executes each move with such grace is impressing. She is best at lyrical and ballet dances, however, she surprises you with her sass and swag. Her technique looks effortless, especially in her spins in second.