Dancers from the American Spirit Dance Company lost three days of rehearsal because of inclement weather, but the Spring Show will go on.
The show is a Broadway Revue, showcasing various styles of dance including tap, ballet, jazz, and music theater. All numbers are double cast, which complicated the fact that rehearsals were canceled, said Jo Rowan, chairman of Ann Lacy School of Dance and Entertainment and director of the company.
“I’ve been extremely stressed because I don’t want the students to be rehearsing all through January and then I have to cancel the show,” she said. “Lots of people think it’s like a class where you can go to the library and get caught up. I can’t. I have to have 100 people on the floor in five rooms with five different teachers teaching double cast of everything.”
The Spring Show is at 8 p.m. March 8-10. There is also a performance at 2 p.m. March 10. All performances are in Kirkpatrick Auditorium in Kirkpatrick Fine Arts Center. Tickets are available by clicking here or contacting the Performing Arts Ticket Office in Edith Kinney Gaylord Center at 405-208-5227.
“The American Spirit Dance Company’s Broadway Revue is an exciting show with many eclectic dance numbers,” said Ryan VanHoosier, American Spirit Dance Company representative, “It’s a ton of fun, a must see.”
Barrett Cahalen, dance performance junior, is in five dance numbers. He said students should see the show because of the variety.
“Spring Show is always my favorite because the choreographers have more free reign when it comes to their dances, so you get so much more of a diverse show with so many different styles and ideas,” he said. “Then they all sit down and determine a way to make everything work together, and it is amazing sometimes how it all comes together.”
Cahalen also said his favorite parts are the beginning of the show, which includes some singing, and the beginning of Act 2, which features four patriotic dance numbers choreographed by Rowan.
Rowan said the fact that people with authority like politicians, businessmen and spiritual leaders couldn’t seem to come together and do “the right thing for the most people” sparked the idea.
“I don’t have any power except as an artist. I can speak and my tool is dance. So I’m going to do something that honors the people who served and sacrificed, now and in the past,” she said.
All dances revolve around stories of war, from the Battle of Lexington and Concord, to the Battle of Bull Run, to World War II. The patriotic lineup ends with a number titled God Bless America and 50 dancers representing the United States.
“The preamble, they dance it,” she said. “Then we all dance God Bless America and that’s my statement. That’s the way I feel about America.”
Rowan said her favorite part is getting to see students enjoy learning and helping each other become better dancers.
“They admire the people that are dancing as much as they get joy from being onstage themselves,” she said. “That’s so beautiful. What I’d like to do is have the world do that, but all I can do is do that here.”
A tyrannosaurs rex named Roary was part of the show last year. Rowan said he’s currently in Guadalajara learning Spanish, but they brought in underwater creatures to take his place.
“We have an under the sea number with a lobster and bunch of really dangerous, gorgeous jellyfish,” Rowan said. “Yes, we have something very weird. We had to come up with something for Roary.”
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