Fresno City College’s dance department presented the City Dances sneak peek fundraiser on Nov. 10 at the FCC Theatre.
The live performances from FCC students showcased jazz, hip-hop, and contemporary dance groups.
As everyone gathers inside the theater you enter a hazy room full of family, friends, alums, and faculty supporting the performers. The audience was patiently waiting with anticipation for the show to begin.
The crowd was full of excitement as each group performed. The atmosphere in the theater was electrified; it almost felt like it bounced off the dancers.
The hip-hop performances in particular had everyone out of their seats cheering at the top of their lungs. Their dance choreography was very superb. The music choices they selected seemed to fit perfectly as the crowd loved it.
The fundraising helps support the students and raise money for scholarships for students. Cristal Tiscareno, the artistic director of City Dances said, “Last year we raised $1,000 in scholarships to give to students, it also covers costume expenses and guest artists.”
This event wanted to spotlight Janice Jansen, a retired dance instructor from 1994, who taught dance for 29 years. The performance highlighted 50 years of dance at FCC, totaling over 90 performances.
Jansen was a dance powerhouse at FCC, one of her trademarks was City Dances. Since 1994, students have performed in the event more than 90 times.
Wearing all-white, members from the alums dance department were recognized after the performance.
Alumnus Eric Gomez, a guest artist in the show, started dancing at FCC in 1981 and helped form City Dances.
“It’s been a great joy to be able to work with this particular group of dancers, COVID-19 really knocked down our department and we almost didn’t have it. We have a strong group of dancers this semester and I feel like we are actually turning a corner in moving forward with the program on what it has been built up to do,” Gomez said.
After the show, Lauryn Hanlon, a business major at FCC spoke about her first time experience attending the show.
“For it being my first time, I had an overall great experience intensified as each performance went on and I was all for it,” Hanlon said. “I would definitely come back again to support this talented group of dancers. It was also amazing to see how everyone choreographed and on point with each performance there is a lot of talent in this department.”
It felt as if some of the audience was a part of the dance team because they were moving and grooving through each performance.
