synthesis

Presented by the Mater Dei Dance Conservatory

Many Pieces, Put Together

On Friday, Mar. 31, lights dim in the Irvine Barclay Theater, and the stage explodes with color and movement. Again and again, the audience witnesses the beautiful result of over a year of hard work, preparation, and talent coming together to create something new- Synthesis. What viewers might not have seen or realized is what it took behind the scenes to present this production.

According to Director of Dance Rochelle Mapes, planning started a year in advance.

“At the concert, the audience doesn’t see the calm but fast process of changing costumes, entering and exiting the stage quietly, theatre tech crew responsible for the lighting, sound, and curtain cues... A whole lot of effort, planning, and heart from the dance faculty to guide their students to dance their best!” Mapes said. Choreographies were set and costumes purchased in December. With a large and experienced dance faculty helping to teach and clean choreography, students began preparing to perform in January.

“Dance Conservatory has the largest faculty including adjunct faculty that train the dancers weekly in jazz, ballet, and contemporary [dance], and rehearsal assistants who aid in cleaning dances and preparing for performance,” Mapes said. “In addition, we have guest choreographers who work with the dancers for a short time to set a new piece for them”.

For the show, dancers are asked to learn a minimum of two dances, up to an impressive maximum of six pieces. Seniors were also given the opportunity to work on an extra dance for the show’s finale.

“Several of the dances were performed prior to Synthesis either at competitions or at dance festivals,” Mapes said. Prior to the performance, these dances must be adapted to the dimensions of the theater stage, which is often much smaller than the competition gym floors they were choreographed for. Additionally, many of the dance teams had to prepare for Synthesis during their own competition seasons.

“We had to finish working on our dances in the middle of our competition season and work extra hard to make sure all of our effort paid off,” junior Hip Hop Team member Janelle Ruiz said. “This was a production in the making from the very start of the school year and every team spent so much time trying to elevate each dance.”