Dance and Winter Concerts kick off the 2008 winter holiday season

The Albany High School Instrumental Music Department presented two great winter concerts on Monday December 15 and Tuesday the 16 in the Little Theater.  The first night featured a more traditional line-up of Symphonic Band, String Orchestra and Wind Ensemble.  The second night was devoted to jazz with Jazz Lab, Vocal Flight, Jazz Band and Rhythm Bound performing. 

            While all the groups played interesting music, the star of the show on Monday was the String Orchestra.  My favorite piece was the medley of dances from the Nutcracker Suite by Tchaikovsky and it was fun to hear the full orchestra tuning up beforehand.

            The new Chorale jazz group, Vocal Flight, performed upbeat and holiday-themed songs before the enthusiastic crowd on Tuesday night.  Jazz Band was great and seemed to be really enjoying the music, especially with the song Little Liza Jane in which they came down and played in the aisles.

            Rhythm Bound, a crowd-pleaser as usual, played old favorites and added some new songs such as Mercy by Duffy and Smooth by Carlos Santana to their mix.           

            With the inclusion of both vocal and instrumental performances on Tuesday night, audience members were offered the treat to see the multiple talents of many students.  These two nights of music were an uplifting way to begin the holiday season.

Written by Rachel Erikson

This past Friday and Saturday night, December 13 and 14, Deirdre Shibano’s dance class brought spectacular performances to the Little Theater. All Dance 2 students were featured, mixed in with a few Dance 1 performers. The show’s popularity was evident in the hordes of student and adult spectators flooding the theater.  Audience expectations were exceeded.

The dance students warmed up on modified bars as their beginning piece. Their grace and elegance belied the strength involved.

Christina Aguilera’s “Hurt” quickly escalated into Michael Jackson’s “Thriller.” The dancers increased tempo on a darkened stage, ghoulishly prancing about in seeming chaos. Dancers with black garbage bag tops appeared, adding to the atmosphere of midnight witchcraft. Around and around they danced, abruptly escalating into the stunning climax set. The audience was breathless, but the show went on.

The Ca-rew (Lindsey fox, Carolina Guerini, Courtney Jones, Sreyneang Lim, Jessica Peckham, Minyahn Robinson, and Shayla Taylor) kept the energy up with their upbeat Missy Elliot music. Their cutoff white tees and colored leggings contrasted nicely with the multitude of colors that cascaded across the stage.

“Sassy” would be the best word to describe “Ain’t No Other Man” as choreographed by Brisa Bodell, Annie Chine, Claire Fahrner, Franny Ferreira, Dorothy Gray, Lia Klugman, and Kayla Nachtsheim. These black- and white-clad girls danced with flair. Their use of black fedoras as props was genius. 

A relatively young group of dancers performed “Hussel” in black leggings and solid color tops. Lights beautifully wove in and out on the dancers, building up the desired environment. Through the greens and blues of the jungle, you could see a golden glow on their hair, like beams of sunlight through leaves. Tiana Andretti, Zoe Chamberlain, Julie Frost, Phoebe Pierce, and Amelia Schneidau-Robles pumped out their choreography in individual style with the jungle music.

Shibano saved the best for last. “The Tango Roxanne” was at a whole other skill level. Julie Antonsen, Richard Austin-Castillo, Livia Fernandes, Erica Gibbons, Jaleel Kane-Abdullah, Marcella Leon, Jake Parkhurst and Erik Staley matched the dramatic music with sensual movement in a wash of passion red. The men tangoed, leaped, spun and lifted in black slacks and suspenders over white shirts. Their partners worked chairs, seduced, and flew with considerable agility into each other’s arms, all while boasting black and red skirts, bustiers, and heels. The technique of the dancers, especially the men, was five to seven years ahead of their peers, Shibano noted. Unfortunately, most high schoolers cannot appreciate the technique and dozens of hours of practice that went into this piece.

The lighting was dazzling, thanks to Olivia Edery’s careful skill and Shibano’s love of the craft. Each number had a color theme that helped escalate the intensity of the dance. Crimson, green, pink, lavender, and aquamarine played across the stage throughout the pieces.

The traditional Shibano-style finale featured each dance group jamming to Sean Paul’s “Temperature” amidst the cheers of the crowd. The dedication, commitment and skill of the dancers was obvious and Shibano said as much. After all, how else do you put such concentrated talent together in a concise 40-minute show?

Written by April Yang