[VIDEO] July 27th’s spectacular performance at VPAC officially marked the grand opening of Joffrey West, the new dance program by Joffrey Ballet School.
But if you’re thinking this was your typical beautiful dance recital on a Friday night — think again. Brilliantly organized by Joffrey West’s very own Artistic Director Alice Alyse, the event kicked off with a glamorous Hollywood red carpet which received the arrivals of many Tinseltown actors, celebrities and renowned professional dancers. It was glitz and glam all the way through.
A Meeting of the Choreographers
The Joffrey West performance showcased the works of So You Think You Can Dance choreographers Mia Michaels and Mandy Moore, Cirque du Soleil IRIS Artistic Director Denise Biggi, Joffrey West Artistic Director Alice Alyse, and our very own DanceLova Dance Academy Artistic Director Ivy Chen. The amazing choreographic works by Asha Di Ningrat, Dante Sevin, Anna-Marie Holmes, Julie Bour, Jonathan Sharp, and Josie Walsh also made the show truly breathtaking.
The Work Behind The Beauty
“The highlight of the night was watching the students demonstrate to the audience the result of their hard work. We had fine students who trained diligently for weeks to make the night a remarkable one,” said Ivy Chen.
Chinese Dance Debuts With Su Tung-Po
Chen, who is also the founder of a new dance academy in Irvine, CA, trained 24 dance students of the 200 who performed that last night. It was the first time Chinese Dance was showcased by Joffrey. Her work, Ripples of a Dream was inspired by the poem, The Battle of Redcliff written by Su Tung-Po during the Song Dynasty in 11th century China.
The dance synergetically-merged the forms of both Chinese traditional dance and contemporary dance, incorporating beautiful long whirling white silk Shuixiu, or ‘water sleeves’ with subtle techniques from Western dance forms.
PERFORMANCE VIDEO IN HD: Work #2 – Ivy Chen’s Ripples of a Dream
