Berkeley High School’s Florence Schwimley Little Theater exploded with nostalgic music, choreography, and thunderous applause on Friday and Saturday, Dec. 6 and 7 for the Dance Production show. Teachers and students alike pulled off an incredible performance, truly “dancing through the decades.”
Before the show, Visual and Performing Arts Dance teacher Linda Carr walked on to the stage, greeted by a welcoming applause. In her introduction, she appreciated the dancers hard work and dedication, while also proudly noting that nearly every seat in the theater was taken.
“Ms. Carr was really supportive and especially in this show she just understood what we were going through,” said performer and choreographer Grace Gundelfinger.
This year’s semester one dance showcase follows the theme “Dancing through the Decades.” The performances moved in chronological order through 18 separate dance acts; starting with a classic 16th century waltz, and ending with 90s and 2000s hip-hop numbers. Primarily student choreographed, every dance was unique, interesting, and enjoyable to watch.
The first performance of the night was a dance called “From the Viennese Ballroom,” choreographed by Ms. Carr. The dance incorporated 10 dancers, all of whom glided across the stage in a carefully coordinated waltz. This opener helped the audience understand the premise of the night. While every single performance was well-done, there were certainly a few standouts and crowd favorites. These included an interpretation of the famous Chicago showtune; “Cell Block Tango.” With the stage bathed in red light, six dancers sat in chairs, one by one moving to the front of the stage to perform a solo while lip-syncing to the original music. The Cell Block Tango is an edgy and catchy song that tells the story of six women and why they murdered their husbands. The performers dressed in black clothes and fishnets, using a red scarf to signify the death of each of their husbands. Despite the crazy premise of the song, the performers did a wonderful job portraying each of the women in an entertaining and eye-catching way.
“I enjoyed the act of the song from Chicago,” BHS sophomore and audience member Dinah Cohen said. “I thought it was cool that the dancers put some of their own personality into it.”
Later in the show, there were many incredible performances referencing the 90s and 2000s. This included big ensemble pieces, like “Back to the ‘00s” choreographed by the Advanced Dance Lab. The number was a mashup of songs by Missy Elliot, Aaliyah, Rihanna and Sean Paul.
The comedic dance “Boyz R Back,” choreographed by Ayla Conway, included a mashup of songs from B2K, the Backstreet Boys, and NSYNC. The dancers, dressed in baggy jeans and white tank tops, were hilarious in their crisp performance and imitation of popular boy-bands and dance styles of the time. It was a crowd pleaser, with people singing along and cheering enthusiastically.
While the ensemble pieces were incredible, the solos, duets, and trios also wowed. One was the nostalgic dance “Dancing Queen,” choreographed by Grace Gundelfinger who also performed in the number. “It was hard but it’s also fun. I felt like the more I got through it the easier it got,” Gundelfinger said, “It was just really fun to see all of our hard work pay off and just experience the show coming to life.”
Another impressive performance was the solo Contemporary Ballet piece “Woman’s Work,” choreographed by Bria Matubrew, and danced by Rose Levine. One of the only solo pieces of the night, Levine gracefully danced her heart out to Kate Bush’s “This Woman’s Work.” Levine did a wonderful job executing every complicated jump and turn and seemed very present, with an expressive and emotion-filled face. The audience seemed to like the dance immediately, cheering at every turn and trick. Other solo performances included a vocal performance, and a solo dance to Marvin Sapp’s “Never Would Have Made It,” a powerful piece beautifully performed and choreographed by Gabby Johnson-Rizzo.
The “Dancing through the Decades” performance was an huge success. With a packed audience, talented dancers, tech teams, and teachers all coming together to create something truly beautiful — a show that appeased every generation.
“Even though all the songs were only 10 years apart, they’re all super different dances and a big variety of music so I think just having that made it all really incredible,” audience member Anabel Orozco said. The dance production classes at BHS have more in store; if the next show is anything like this one, it will be entertaining and special to watch.