CARISSA MARSH
A&E Editor
“From the top. Five, six, seven, eight,” Bill Szobody calls out to a group of sweatpants-clad dancers.
It is a whirlwind of movement as dancers jump, spin, leap and roll into action in the mirrored dance studio at the Malibu Center for Performing Arts on Saturday morning. The energetic but visibly exhausted group of students is practicing the opening number for Dance in Flight and is about to run through the jazz piece with music from beginning to end for the first time.
“There’s a little bit of clarity when you see what you’re going to look like and how you’re going to feel and it’s rewarding,” freshman dancer Allegra Edwards said of the run-through and a recent costume fitting.
A rock star theme becomes apparent as the troupe dances to the Blue Man Group song “Time to Start,” and the dancers pump their fists, bop their heads and even rock the air guitar before ending in a pop star pose. The energy, the attitude and the fast rhythmic tunes — it is clear why this year’s dance extravaganza is called “Dance in Flight: In Concert.”
But do not expect a completely fleshed out rock ‘n’ roll theme.
“I don’t like the word theme. I like to follow a flavor,” said Szobody, professor of dance and director of Dance in Flight. “I wanted to go a little edgier, a little harder. Every number doesn’t follow along with the theme, but the first number sets up an overall feel for the show.”
The now hugely popular on-campus production began 15 years ago with a small group of 10 dedicated dancers who performed a show in the tiny Lindhurst Theatre.
Since then, the program has grown tremendously, with a company of nearly 90 students in 2006 and a more manageable 65 students this year. In years past, the show has sold out each night. To accommodate the increased interest in Dance in Flight, an extra show was added to this year’s schedule, making it the first time there has been a Saturday night show in Dance in Flight history.
Dance in Flight is made up of students of all different ages, majors and dance backgrounds. The diversity of the group makes the show dynamic and accessible to the audience.
“It’s cool to see how much talent we have at this school,” sophomore Alex Minke said.
Auditions for the show took place in September, and the company has been rehearsing since October. Surprisingly, senior Trent Allen said one of his favorite aspects of Dance in Flight is the audition process.
“Everyone is staring at you, but they are so encouraging,” Allen said. “There is so much love in that room.”
Freshman Alexandra Harding had a more nervous experience with auditions, which she described as “super overwhelming.” But after she made the cut, she found that she really enjoyed the rehearsals.
“It’s a way to de-stress at the end of the week,” she said. “It does require a lot of dedication, but I think it’s worth it.”
Edwards has another way of looking at rehearsals.
“It’s been a nice way to get my exercise in and keep the freshman 15 as far away as possible,” she said. “But it’s also been a really nice way to meet people.”
For each number, the dancers practice an hour and a half a week, usually on weekends because many of the members in Dance in Flight are involved in other activities on campus.
“It’s a big sacrifice for students to contribute their weekend — their time off — to Dance in Flight,” Szobody said.
Junior Tiffany Saulnier is in five dances this year, the max number a student can be in, because five dances equal seven and a half hours of practice a week. She is also a choreographer for one dance, and this is her second year acting as assistant director, a kind of student representative for all the dancers. With a double major in communication and business, Saulnier said it has been hard to juggle school with Dance in Flight and that her weekends have been dedicated to reading for class and dancing.
“But it’s doing something that you love,” she said. “It provides an outlet for the dancers on campus. It’s not a pressure-cooker situation.”
Saulnier said she also loves the fact that Dance in Flight is essentially student-run.
“You’re dealing with all the different personalities and styles of dance and that makes it a bit of a challenge, but it also makes it more fun,” she said.
The student choreographers have a big responsibility. They have to come up with the dance and costume ideas, schedule rehearsals, and collaborate with the lighting designer.
Senior Rozelle Polido, who has been in Dance in Flight all four years and served as the public relations chair this year, said the dancers have to trust the choreographers and “know that they have a vision and they are going to get you to the end.”
The audience will get a chance to see a behind-the-scenes look at the auditions and rehearsals during video clips between numbers. A variety of dance disciplines are represented in show, including tap, ballet, jazz, hip-hop, modern, couples and world dance.
“One of my favorite things about Dance in Flight is doing a world dance segment,” Szobody said. “I think it’s important for us to see different dances from different places and cultures. It’s a good educational experience for the audience to see dances they might never have seen before.”
This year there is an African gospel number, which mixes praise dance with African dance. Allen described the dance as being “high energy” but still uplifting.
“It’s one of the pieces that will really get the crowd going,” he said.
A common sentiment among the dance company is that this year’s show will be even more spectacular than the last. This is senior Tyler Haygood’s fourth time participating in the show, and he is the dance captain for the African gospel piece.
“We constantly have to prove ourselves because each year it gets better and better,” Haygood said. “I feel like we’ve really stepped the bar up this year for Dance in Flight and people in the group have really responded.”
Polido agreed. She said that, while the dance may not always look perfect in rehearsals, it all comes together in the end. And come show time it is all about making the audience proud.
“Every year we want to give them something fresh and new,” she said. “We don’t want to let them down.”
There is no chance of disappointment however, as Szobody has a couple tricks up his sleeve.
“There is a surprise to open the show that Dance in Flight has never done before. And I’m not going to tell you,” Szobody laughed. “So it’s exciting to see what the reaction will be to that.”
In the end, it all comes down to the final product that the group has been working toward all year: the performances.
“Just having the lights, the atmosphere, the vibe, and just seeing everyone’s work come together … It’s really satisfying,” junior Quincy Wimbish said. “It really makes you appreciate the art of dance.”
Dance in Flight will run Feb. 7 to Feb. 10 at 8 p.m. in Smothers Theatre. Tickets cost $15 for the public or $10 with student ID. For more information, call the box office at ext. 4522 or visit the Web site at Pepperdinedif.com.
02-01-2007