Show Me the Music, this year's Coast Academy of Dance (CAD) recital at the Raven's Cry Theatre, was long (over three hours), fast-paced, colourful and demonstrated some extraordinary talents.
CAD's artistic director Julie Izad told the audience that the four performances of the year-end show last weekend, featuring approximately 300 dancers, were seen by about 1,000 people.
The CAD's pre-professional dancers lit up the stage whenever they performed. One of them, Emilie Bland, who is graduating this year, gave a solo using her own choreography. Others in the study program - Meghan Campbell, Baylee Higgins, Rebecca Izad, Shanda Lightbourn, Michelle Millican and Richele Wright - showed their abilities in a variety of styles.
In other highlights of a stellar show, Mothers and Daughters, choreographed and danced by teacher Kathleen Holmes, involved most of the senior ballerinas and was both touching and polished. The intermediate pointe class also presented an unusual and lovely piece, a Chinese Ribbon Dance, in which they demonstrated grace with ribbon twirling while dancing in toe shoes.
The musical theatre portion of the program was exciting.
Cats in the Alley was cute, performed by the song and dance class, while the burlesque segment involving the modern dancers was a show stopper.
The full house roared with laughter at the risqué Full-Mom Tease, the adult cardio dance in which adult performers dressed as if for a night at the gay bar. Other adult dance pieces, both tap and ballet, were inspiring to the over 40s in the audience.
The acrobatics classes used innovative staging to accommodate all their performers on stage at once during The Wild Wild West. A clever choreographer, Terra Danes, meshed the acrobatics and can-can dancers together with a horse rustling scene. The strange combination worked.
Instructor solos were exciting. Incoming hip hop teacher Chris Wong performed his own choreography with Sharon Lee, while outgoing hip hop teacher Sammie Broomhall gave a spirited performance on her own piece along with Tamara Van Lieshout.
Jazz dance appears to be popular with the students, and there were several lively jazz pieces combining many levels of classes, including one performed to a country and western song that appeared to be more line dance than jazz.
The dance performed by seven senior students, Templado Graduado, choreographed by Izad, was designed to be a tribute to their graduation and was an interesting blend of whirling costumes and choreography.
Registration for the academy's regular weekly programs begins again in September. In July and August, dancers Kath-leen and David Holmes will be offering two intensive advanced ballet workshops at the facility. For more information, contact [email protected] or phone 604-740-9951.
