Area residents can see an award-winning Cortez dance team as they perform this weekend as part of an annual recital of students from Suzannes School of Dance.
The shows theme is I Got a Feeling by the Black Eyed Peas.
The song just makes you want to get up and dance, so the audience just wants to get up and dance. Thats your biggest compliment, Dance Instructor Kristen Dennison said about the shows theme.
The recital will feature dance styles including hip-hop, tap, ballet, jazz, clogging, lyrical, modern and cheer. Every dance style taught at the school will be represented on stage, including a break dance number performed by a 5- and 6-year old. Tunes that the youths will dance to also show a wide range from the classics, such as When Youre Smiling sung by Regis Philbin, to country song It Happens by Sugarland, to numbers performed to songs by Linkin Park and the Black Eyed Peas. Instructors Dennison and Rachel Robson also will perform a piece.
Apparently, practice does make perfect. The school dance teams efforts paid off when they took home every award they competed for in the Cathy Roe Ultimate Dance Competition April 29-30 in Albuquerque, N.M.
The dance team comprises area teens, age 13-17, of the registered dance school. Suzannes School of Dance is located at 24194B County Road L in the Westcor Complex. Instructors Kristen Dennison and Rachel Robson choreographed the hip-hop entry; the clogging piece was choreographed by the students themselves. Dancers who competed in Albuquerque are Shaunnell Butler, Aspyn Gibbs, Kayden Howell, Laurel Chappell, Emma Cuckie, Chessie Kimble, Bailey Morris, Brandi Avon, all of Cortez; and Weslie Kirks of Pleasant View.
The team followed a grueling practice schedule for 16 months in preparation for this event, rehearsing for two hours every Friday, as well as on weekends, holidays, plus mornings and evenings before and after school. The participants drive and commitment is evident when considering the investment of time each dancer devotes to preparing for each performance, in addition to competition dance.
The girls worked anywhere between two to eight hours a week since October, but they actually started learning the dances in October of 2009, Dennison said. I taught the dances nine months pregnant. The closer we got to competition, the more practices we held.
Among the teams winnings were first place and a Platinum rating for their hip-hop piece, set to Jump by Slo-Rida, and a High Gold Rating, Judges Choice and the Producers Dream Award for the teams clogging performance, set to Cant Touch This by M.C. Hammer. This was the teams first time at competition, and they were pitted against teams from Texas, New Mexico and other Colorado locations.
Students in the dance program at Suzannes also contribute time to community service 20 hours so far this year and take away a strong sense of confidence in themselves and camaraderie with fellow dancers. Many plan to pursue dance in one form or another throughout their lives.
Dance is just so much more than just moving to the music, Dennison said. It teaches hard work, discipline, confidence, and appreciation for the art.
In addition to hip-hop and clogging, other dance styles taught at the school are lyrical, contemporary/modern, jazz, tap, ballet, and cheer. Students accepted are aged 3 to 18 years. The majority of students are girls. Boys are encouraged to study dance with the school, however, and there are several currently enrolled. Scholarships are available to potential students on a case-by-case basis.
The dance schools annual recital, entitled I Got a Feeling will present two performances this weekend; the first will be at 6 p.m. Saturday, June 4, with a matinee showing at 2 p.m. Sunday, June 5, at the Montezuma-Cortez High School Auditorium. General admission tickets are $6, available at the door; doors open one hour prior to each showing.
For more information about the recital or dance programs, contact Kristen Dennison at 739-9481.
Reach Domino Hawks at dominoh@cortezjournal.com.