Fresno City College’s dance program, City Dance, has been thriving for more than 30 years, remaining an advocate of fostering new and polishing existing talent in FCC dance students. The student talent is able to blossom through the fall semester’s Fall Workshop performance, as well as the spring semester’s more formal Spring Concert.

From April 26-28, the Fresno community was able to witness the display of the current talent of the City Dance group with its Spring Concert, performed in the FCC Theatre. All the pieces in the performance were choreographed by student choreographers, with the exception of the final piece, which was choreographed by FCC dance instructor, and City Dance artistic director, Jimmy Hao.

Hao directs the City Dance group, helping them all spiral their existing talent, as well as nurture new talent. He is fully able to do so by calling on the extensive background he has accumulated throughout many years of working all over the world with dance, teaching, and choreographing numbers for various professional companies and schools.

As described on the FCC website, this semester’s City Dance Spring Concert is a fully staged dance production of classic and contemporary works. By having FCC dance students with previous choreography and dance experience return, the quality of the program keeps up its momentum, all the while making different views present within the program with the addition of new students as well.

Katrina Steward, a dance major, has been student choreographer with the City Dance group for three semesters and is currently working on her second degree. She has always had the passion for dance, and has even opened up her own dance studio, Miss K’s Dance Bungalow.

Steward feels her focus is to dance with heart and experience. “There’s hard work, and then there’s heart work; I have both,” she said.

That kind of dedication is what drives a student choreographer to excel at communicating an idea to the rest of the group. Steward’s piece, “Journey to Freedom,” was inspired by Africa and African culture. “It’s a piece of segregation in a black church,” said Steward, who was raised in Fort Smith, AK. “No one should say age or gender should limit what you can do,” she said.

Although she said some in the group were intimidated by her concept, others were excited and in the end, it turned up many compliments from everyone, including an audience member who teared up.

“It was the greatest honor to talk to her and have her tell me it was appropriate,” said Steward of the 92-year-old woman who let her know that her piece was more than just a dance piece. “It really hit home with a lot of people,” Steward said.

By adding new dancers each semester, ideas like hers make it exciting to work together. “I was excited to work with people who have never danced on stage before. It’s almost a new generation of dance,” Steward said.

Steward describes her favorite piece by fellow student choreographer, Cristal Tiscareno, “…HIStory…. He sighs.” “The way she choreographed it, to see a group of men to work together with all types of background; it’s a beautiful thing to see,” said Steward.

Other pieces in the performance were of a vast variety, including Kara Bithell’s “Softening Our Edges,” all-women, serene piece accompanied with music by YoYo Ma. “Three Degrees Above Center,” with music by Brian Eno, was a more contemporary piece featuring only three dancers and almost minimal but fluid movements.

The final piece of the performance, “Remembrance” used music by John Williams and was choreographed by City Dance director, Jimmy Hao.