A step ahead

Deirdre Newman

The drumbeat from the synthesizer reverberates throughout the room as

the modern dance students gracefully leap across the floor.

Practicing for a studio hour performance, Orange Coast College

students jump to the lively rhythm kept by Jeff Mayor, director of the

college’s dance department.

The dance program at OCC is unique not just because the head of the

department provides accompaniment, but because of the eclectic array of

classes taught by a cadre of seasoned performers. A hidden jewel on the

campus, the dance department has been immersing students in a

comprehensive program for the past three decades.

“ We are really interested in not just having a movement activity

experience . . . but to process information about how dance can be

incorporated into [students’] lives, either as a professional or not,”

said teacher Linda Sohl-Donnell. “There’s an integration into their way

of perceiving the world and they are being exposed to different styles.”

The department offers a variety of classes in dance styles like

Flamenco, Spanish, African and Indian. Technique classes include ballet,

jazz, modern and tap. And there are also classes that focus on personal

expression, like choreography and creative movement class.

Many students, like Lanae Harvey, are working on their dance

instruction certificates. Harvey said she came to the junior college to

enhance her performing experience as well as her skills.

Plenty of performing opportunities are available in the program, from

informal studio hours to an intensive student dance concert in the

spring.

THE TECHNIQUE

The department places a high priority on dance technique.

“If you don’t have technique, you don’t have a dance department,”

Mayor said.

In her modern classes, Sohl-Donnell, who has taught in France, Germany

and Japan, focuses on timing and alignment.

“My dance classes are highly rhythmic and I’m very precise about the

timing and the musical phrasing I’m looking for. I don’t want students to

just make positions -- I want them to feel the whole musical phrase,”

Sohl-Donnell said.

Student Maureen Toner said she appreciates that Sohl-Donnell gives

students a broad understanding of technique.

“Probably the biggest thing I’ve learned is how to move,” Toner said.

“She really breaks us out of being constrictive dancers.”

The dance technique classes are enhanced by Mayor’s live music. His

intuitive awareness of the symbiotic relationship between music and dance

is illustrated on the piano and synthesizer.

“Live music is essential for ballet and modern because it really

teaches that dance without music doesn’t exist,” Mayor said. “It’s very

important to develop a sensitivity of musicality and not just dance on

the surface of the sound.”

THE TEACHERS

The dance teachers at OCC practice what they teach, and not just

during the yearly faculty dance concert. A number, including Ramaa

Bharadvaj, have their own dance companies. Others, like Angelika Nemeth,

are very active in their field. Nemeth helped organize the second

International Conference on Middle Eastern Dance, which was held at the

college in May.

The newest addition to the dance staff is Amelie Hunter, a prolific

choreographer whose work is regularly performed by companies all over the

country. During Christmas break, she will be working with the Baton Rouge

Ballet Theatre on a new work. In the spring, Hunter will teach an anatomy

for dancers class based on the Pilates approach.

The two teachers responsible for most of the technique classes, which

form the core of the program, are Sohl-Donnell and Jose Costas.

Sohl-Donnell, a petite lithe dancer, has been teaching since she was

14 and has been at OCC since 1978. Along with the five choreographer’s

fellowships from the National Endowment for the Arts she has under her

tiny belt, Sohl-Donnell recently was given $15,000 from the James Irvine

Foundation of Los Angeles to produce and perform a piece integrating

Balinese styles with Indonesian music and American tap.

Sohl-Donnell, artistic director of the performance group Rhapsody in

Taps, teaches modern dance technique, jazz technique, choreography,

improvisation and tap.

Jose Costas -- a former principal dancer with Ballet Hispanico in New

York -- teaches advanced ballet, intermediate jazz and Latin social

dance. He also directs the performing group Fiesta Latina, a dance and

cultural heritage outreach to Orange County’s high schools.

Costas began his training in Puerto Rico when he was in college and

got his master’s degree in dance from New York University. He also has a

degree in biology. Costas came to OCC six years ago to work for a dance

program that he considers to be one of the best in the nation.

‘The commitment of the faculty and support we receive are fantastic,”

Costas said. “You don’t get this everywhere.”

On a recent morning, Costas, an irrepressible spirit dressed all in

black, joined in with his students as they practiced.

His goal is to foster a sense of individuality in his dancers.

“Every student has something unique to offer,” Costas said. “I give

them technique as a way to free this wheel of movement from the heart.”

Student Rebecca Brockmeyer said she enjoys Costas’ lighthearted, yet

strict, teaching style.

“He kicks my butt,” Brockmeyer said.

THE PERFORMANCES

Performing is a key component of the dance program.

The school year kicks off with a faculty dance concert where the

instructors showcase their talent. Often, the works are choreographed by

teachers and performed by students.

The Winter Dance Festival, which ended Friday, is a new event that

exposes high school and elementary students to multicultural dance.

In the spring, the student dance concert features a selection of

student choreography and costume design. Students have to audition three

times to be accepted to this intensive program.

At the end of every semester, there is also an informal studio hour,

where each class displays their skills. The most recent studio hour was

held on Dec. 12.

“The class is like a lab, but if you don’t put it together, it’s not a

growth experience,” Mayor said.

In addition to the various concerts, there is also the Fiesta Latina

and various teacher’s companies, which have been known to take in student

dancers.

TRAINING THE PROFESSIONAL

While not all students in the dance program aspire to continue in the

field, the faculty is attuned to the needs of those that do. Advanced

classes prepare students for dance programs at four-year colleges.

“I know what those demands are since I’ve been there,” Sohl-Donnell

said. “I’m very much, in those advanced level classes, trying to prepare

them for the next step -- not lock them into just one style, but give

them a really solid foundation that they can go into any [advanced] class

and hold their own.”

And a new program, partially developed by Costas, creates a bridge

between the classroom and the stage, with dance students observing

rehearsals and performances by Ballet Pacifica in Irvine.

“I think [OCC] is doing a great job of preparing them for the dance

industry,” said Gillian Finley, Ballet Pacifica’s conservatory director.

-- Deirdre Newman covers education. She may be reached at (949)

574-4221 or by e-mail at o7 deirdre.newman@latimes.comf7 .