Every semester, Citrus College’s Dance Department hosts a dance concert to showcase the dance students. This semester’s dance concert will feature jazz, ballet, tap, hip-hop, modern, musical theater and contemporary dance styles.
Chair of the Dance Department and Humanities teacher, Renee Liskey, said the show is for the community.
“It’s a chance for parents and family members and colleagues to see what their friends have been doing, every weekend for hours and hours of time while they’re preparing. It’s a way to watch students,” Liskey said. “The arts at Citrus have been a legacy for a long time.”
This is the first year, in the past eight years, that Liskey hasn’t been the director. Instead, Liskey is currently producing and running costumes for this fall’s performance.
The performers in the dance program has been working on their pieces for the fall dance concert since August in order to perfect each dance. Liskey said Citrus College’s dance department is commercial oriented.
“So we have several ballet and modern classes, which is the more academic side, but our program focuses on jazz, hip-hop, tap, musical theatre, the things that are being done on television, on Broadway, music videos, theme parks, cruise ships, that sort of thing,” Liskey said.
Liskey said dance is always changing,“The popular dance styles our younger students are doing changes, the onset of shows like ‘So You Think You Can Dance’ and ‘World of Dance’ and all these shows you have on television. Now there’s a bigger connection to contemporary, lyrical dance. So a lot of the students want to be a part of that, so we’ve kind of incorporated that into some of our jazz classes, some of our modern classes. So they get sort of a taste of it, to do things that they see on television.” Liskey said.
For the students involved in dance concert, it is really a growing experience. “It forces them to work collegiality with a group of their peers. It can sometimes be hard to have friends and be in class with them and then be a choreographer and change into that role where you having to direct people and tell them what to do and what not to do in terms of dance context.” Liskey said. Emphasizing the importance of good leadership skills. Liiskey said, t can be hard sometimes to switch those roles when you’re friends with these people and now you have to sort of guide them. So it’s a good skill for them to learn in terms of that and also it’s just a really good learning experience. It’s something they’re able to present their pieces of work in a full scale show, in a large theater, with professional lighting, with professional costumes, professional sound, and it just gives them a good indication of whether it’s something they want to continue and do for the rest of their life.”
While it may seem like in order to be a part of dance concert a huge amount of experience is needed, that isn’t necessarily the case. In the show, “We have people at very various skill levels. From people that have just danced for a semester or two to people that have been dancing since they were 3-years-old.” Liskey said. The directors are definitely willing to work with students of all skill levels, who have a passion for dance.
Students love being a part of dance concert. During rehearsals for the upcoming dance concert, the halls are packed with students eager to learn and perform. Student choreographer, 19, undecided major, Jeremy Manzo has been a part of dance concert for two semesters and said, “I just like dancing with other people who have a passion for dancing as well.”
Double major, English and dance, 21, Maddison Nall, has been a part of the Citrus College dance program since 2016, but this fall is her first time being a part of dance concert. Nall has learned, “that you can work together, but still be your individual person and everybody comes together to create one big beautiful entity rather than like individuals and then they don’t blend in together. “
Liskey said the dance department at Citrus is a place to explore a passion for dance, or even just a curiosity for it.
“We pride ourselves in being a really safe place to learn and a hate free zone, so if any students out there are scared to dance or they’ve always wanted to try it, this is the place to do it.”” Liskey said.
Come and experience Citrus College’s fall dance concert at 7pm on November 8th. Tickets can be purchased at the box office, during their business hours anytime before the show, or online at the Haugh’s website, http://tickets.haughpac.com. Standard tickets are $13, but with a valid student ID tickets are discounted to $11. All tickets will be $16 at the door. Questions regarding any of the performances at the Haugh Performing Arts Center can be answered by the box office at (626)963-9411.
