‘Dance Affair’ shines, but not to outdo Miller
Few places combine sultry Latin dancing with fast-paced clogging, but “A Dance Affair” had everything from waltzes to hip-hop for audience members Thursday night in the Evan Stevenson Ballroom.
The 25 individual numbers brought together over 80 dancers, and the Utah State University Ballroom Dance Company hosted the event.
“My favorite part is just being out there and having fun,” said 13-year-old Lindsay Allen, who danced with Center Stage. “I like knowing you did a good job.”
Ricky Fielding, the president of the ballroom team, said the performance was partly a fundraiser and partly a trial run.
“It was an experiment to see if we could put together this kind of show,” he said. “Big band dancing is extremely rare around here, so since Glenn Miller left, we decided we’d try to do something similar. But I wouldn’t say it was to take the place of Glenn Miller.”
The Glenn Miller Show had its final run in 2002.
Auditions for “A Dance Affair” were held in early December, and the performers came mostly from the community, including Skyview High School. Fielding said if the event was to happen again, the auditions would be held much sooner because it was all put together so quickly.
Most of the audience members were parents or members of the community. Jason Bryant, a masters student studying rehabilitation counseling, was one of the few USU students who were there.
“We like to socialize with the older crowd; it makes us feel younger,” he said.
Bryant met his wife on the Brigham Young University Ballroom team, so he wanted to surprise her by taking her to the performance.
Tina Bryant, his wife, said she liked watching ballroom dance even though she and her husband don’t perform anymore.
“We dance on a daily basis with our kids in the living room, but that’s about it,” she said. “I’m most looking forward to seeing somebody we know. We have one of our baby sitters performing.”
Trudy Swenson, a Nibley resident, said she came to the performance because she heard about it on the radio, and it sounded interesting.
“We never got to the Glenn Miller thing, but we had a lot of people tell us it was something not to miss. This sounded like it, so we decided to come,” she said.
Shane Shurtliff, a junior majoring in mechanical engineering and member of the USU Big Band Swing Team, said he got his start with performing when he tried out for the Ricks College swing team two and one half years ago.
“They didn’t have enough guys, so I made it,” he said.
His favorite number was the “Boogie Bumper,” which he performed with Marcia Whitney, said Shurtliff, who co-choreographed the dances for USU’s B team.
“It’s a really fun one that me and Marcia do together,” he said. “But we had to cut it back because she’s pregnant now. We used to do some really cool lifts, but it’s still a lot of fun.”
This is the first year USU has had a B team.
“It’s done really good, especially because this is the first time the B team has performed,” Shurtliff said. “They’re good kids.”
One of the younger performers, and also one who traveled the farthest, was Italo Elgueta. The ninth-grader came from Provo and danced in three single-couple numbers.
“The Cha-cha was my favorite because it’s so much fun,” he said.
Elgueta has been dancing for two and one half years, and his former partner, Kim Campbell of Mt. Logan Middle School, suggested he come dance.
Lisa Gunnell, who choreographed the number “Blue,” said the number has improved a lot since it was created.
“We practiced whenever we could,” she said. “That dance came a long way from what it used to be.
Ski Higgs, a junior art major, said he loved dancing but didn’t like the makeup.
“I feel like a drag queen,” he said. “I don’t like the whole makeup thing because I’m a guy and guys don’t like mascara and
eyeliner.”
Among the 25 performances were seven from the ballroom team and five from the swing team. Heather Anderson, a member of the USU Ballroom Team, and Marcia Whitney, a USU Swing Team member, sang solos and provided breaks in the dancing
numbers.
Fielding said he doesn’t know if the team will sponsor the event again in the future.
“It was really scary, so we’ll see,” he said. “It was a lot of work.”
The singers and dancers will perform again tonight. Tickets are $19.50 for students and $28.50 for the general public and are available at the USU Ticket Office. The show starts at 7 p.m., and the price includes dinner.
The ballroom team’s next performance will be April 14 and 15.
–kcartwright@cc.usu.edu
The USU swing team concludes its dance titled
The saxophone section of Tim Bate and the Rythmaires warms up the crowd before the show. (Photos by Angelie Christensen)