Kendall Aronson, Campus Carrier Arts & Living Editor
Berry College’s dance troupe will host their Holiday Dance Extravaganza on Nov. 16. The show tells the story of the commercialism of Christmas.
The dance troupe has been practicing since the semester began for the upcoming show. It will be held in the Ford Auditorium, which is a change from previous years, when it was held off campus. Senior Gabriella Rivas , an exercise science and pre-med major, is the company manager of the dance troupe. She oversees the show’s organization and the rehearsal coordination.
“I think it’s a very entertaining show,” Rivas said. “ It’s a fun chance to relax and see some of the fine arts talent that is on campus, so we just want to showcase that.”
The dance troupe held auditions for the show during the first few weeks of school. Because of the early auditions, the show has a smaller cast and fewer dance numbers. 20 students are involved in the production.
Junior Aubrey Clark, assistant company manager of the dance troupe, said that most shows they have done in the past have stuck to one style of dance, but this show has a mix of contemporary, jazz, hip-hop, swing, ballet and musical theater styles.
“This is the first time we’ve ever done a variety of styles,” Clark said. ”We had this idea to make it an extravaganza and switch it up and make it a bit more interesting for students and (the) community.”
Sophomore Amanda Tomlinson, an environmental science major, is an assistant company manager. She also choreographed one of the pieces in the dance production. She had choreographed dances in high school, but this is the first dance she has designed during college.
“For me, this process was super fun,” Tomlinson said. “I think this show, although it’s short, the quality is really good.”
Tomlinson says that dance is a fun way to learn about the story they are telling. She says the cast has been very dedicated to telling that story, and that their hard work is easy to see in the performance.
“We are telling the story of the commercialization of Christmas, like how it went from a traditional religious thing to Black Friday and all that kind of stuff,” Tomlinson said.
There were some problems finding practice space for the dance troupe to practice because of the unavailability of Richards Gym.
“Our dance studio is in Richards, and after the incident that occurred over the summer with GHP, we’ve had to have all of our rehearsals in the Cage, which has been a battle,” Tomlinson said. “The location is not ideal. People have to come in and get stuff, and that has been a very different vibe.”
The Holiday Dance Extravaganza will take place at 7:30 p.m. in the Ford Auditorium on Nov. 16 and 17. It has been cleared as a CE credit. Tickets are $2 with a Berry ID and $5 for general admission.