The lights on the Plaza del Sol stage came on Tuesday evening to illuminate the smiling faces and dancing feet of students and faculty from the CSUN Department of Kinesiology.
The department premiered their fall dance concert, Colaboratoria, to an eager audience. The concert is a showcase of student and faculty dances that have taken months of work to present. Going from the dance studio to stage, students participated in choreographing and performing original pieces.
This is the first year that Colaboratoria has had three separate performances, said Liz De Guzman, graduating senior and kinesiology major with a dance option.
Two other performances were held on Wednesday.
“Dance majors or minors participate in Colaboratoria as a part of their grade,” De Guzman said.
Student-choreographed dances provide the ability to display their understanding of the complexity of the human body and its limits. At the same time, these student dancers are learning about their bodies as instruments of art and are enriching their soul and expressing their passion for dance.
“It’s been phenomenal,” said De Guzman, who performed in the piece, “Reminiscent Journey of a Broken Heart.” “It’s a great feeling being on stage. It makes me feel at home.”
Colaboratoria provides the platform for a wide range of dances, incorporating classical ballet techniques and modern dance moves, as well as dances from around the world.
The Spanish gypsy style dance of flamenco was vibrant with colorful backgrounds to match the dancers’ costumes, and their castanets clicked in time to the stomping of their heels. The audience was also treated to live music from a cellist and guitar players while dancers performed around them. A dueling tap group and hip-hop troupe were also featured in the program.
The hip-hop piece, “Reminiscent Journey of a Broken Heart” was co-choreographed by CSUN graduate student Mariko Iwabuchi and Jonathan Lorico.
All participants came together to show a variety of elaborate forms of dance that were weaved together to form a stunning evening of performance art.
“It has been a great experience,” said Julian Recio, sophomore and performer in the hip-hop piece. “I can’t put into words how great it has been, it has been so much fun. We have received really good feedback (from the audience).”
