‘Creative Forces’ converge on Huntington High
Tom Titus
Students in the Academy for the Performing Arts at Huntington Beach
High School will kick up their heels this weekend.
The academy is staging its annual Creative Forces Dance Concert
Friday and Saturday in the high school theater, displaying what the
students have learned and what they’ve come up with on their own.
“Creative Forces” is unique because it allows high school students
to explore their artistic abilities through a range of choreographic
styles,” said Diane Makas-Weber, the academy’s artistic director as
well as its primary choreographer.
“This concert showcases an eclectic collection of dance genres and
choreography, which embodies the breadth of the academy’s dance
program,” she said.
Advanced-level students in the academy’s ballet, modern dance,
jazz and tap ensembles will perform most of the concert’s works.
Some of the teenagers’ talents already have been displayed in the
academy’s recent production of the musical “Damn Yankees.” This
golden oldie was enriched by some high-voltage choreography as sports
and showbiz collided to the delight of the audience.
The academy’s dance graduates have gone on to pursue their muse at
UC Irvine, Cal State Long Beach, Boston College, southern Methodist
University, NYU Tisch School of the Arts and professional dance
companies such as the San Francisco Ballet and the Boston Ballet,
Makas-Weber noted.
The academy has 57 dance majors, although an additional 130
nondance majors also participate in the school’s dance classes.
Dance is one of the six performance departments offered by the
academy program, which was established in 1993 as a pre-professional
arts education for young performers, writers, composers and
technicians.
The program features a specialized curriculum with master classes,
small class sizes, interaction with guest artists and performing
arts-related field trips. Classes are offered in dance, commercial
recording arts, music, theater, musical theater and technical
theater.
This weekend’s Creative Forces show will be presented at 7:30 p.m.
Friday and Saturday in the high school auditorium, 1905 Main St.,
Huntington Beach. General admission is $8, with student tickets
available for $6 and reservations taken at (714) 526-2514, ext. 4025.
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