SJRCC PRESS RELEASE February 2008 Florida School of the Arts to perform Spring Dance Gala Florida School of the Arts will present its "Spring Dance Gala" February 28 - March 1 at 7:30 p.m. and March 2 at 2:30 p.m. on the FloArts Main Stage Theatre. FloArts is located on the Palatka Campus of St. Johns River Community College. Admission is $5, and the public is invited to attend. The Gala is a collection of seven works that includes tap, ballet, jazz, modern and Spanish flamenco dances choreographed by FloArts instructors and performed by students, faculty and guest artists. "This is a very eclectic program," said Lee Dando, FloArts dance instructor. "Each performance is uniquely choreographed by our dance faculty. Each instructor comes from diverse backgrounds and dance disciplines." One of the more traditional pieces choreographed by Dando will be from "Coppˇlia." "It's an old folk tale performed in traditional ballet," Dando said. "We chose the wedding sequence to give our students the opportunity to work on a strict, classical piece of choreography." Dando said that traditionally, ballet requires a large number of dancers and this performance is no exception. "We have a good amount of ballet dancers this year; so we thought it would be a good fit," Dando said. First year dance student Chally Rowjohn said the performance has the potential to be a crowd pleaser. "Not only is it set in a familiar setting - love birds getting married, audiences can appreciate the challenge of being technically correct and looking beautiful at the same time," Rowjohn said. The following pieces will also be performed in the Gala: "What's Goin' On?" choreographed by Tara Babajtis. Dancers in this performance represent various causes in order to inspire peace. "Canto a La Pr’mavera" choreographed by Luis Abella. "Pasos" choreographed by Joel Mejias. "It Amazes Me" choreographed by Freddick Bratcher. "They Don't Care About Us" choreographed by Tara Babajtis. "Fractured Flickers" choreographed by Freddick Bratcher. Dancers to perform are: Lakeshia Abram, Jessica Almodovar, Leary Baptiste, Jacqueline Casey, Carissa Cobb, Shonda Conner, Amanda Cox, Brooke Dixon, Christian Lykiardopoulos, Emily Masson, Katie McCreary, Lauren Mullis, Danielle Novotny, Thaddeus Pearson, Joseph Piscione, Daniel Prill, Rashidah Richard, Chally Rowjohn, Michelle Scott, Sarah Soto, Samantha Swearingen, Natalie Volk and Heather Walts. Instructors to perform are: Tara Babajtis, Freddick Bratcher and Joel Mejias. The production staff consists of: Robert O'Leary, scene design and technical director; Mark Carmouze, stage manager; Kaitria Resetar and Katy Knowles, assistant stage managers; Christopher Parrish, scenic paint charge; Charles Rye, master electrician; Romen Phelps, master carpenter and assistant technical director; Dana Jenkins and Rye, sound board operators; Phelps and Knowles, light board operators. Costume Construction: Chelsea Anderson, Vera Bouchard, Shawn Bryant, Megan Georgeo, Charles Hale, Nicole Minardi, Daniel Prill, Torey Scarbrough, Ellen West and Logan Wolfe. Set Construction and Lighting Crew: Luis Melendez, Annelise Reding, Lydia Abraham, Laurence Davis, Penny Endicott, Colleen Fahy, Matthew Hixon, Knowles, Anna Kross, Kip LaCombe, Brian Lugo, Bruce Popielarski, Resetar, Laura Rondinelli and Andrea Whitman. Florida School of the Arts is Florida's first state-supported professional arts school that serves the entire state of Florida and awards the two-year associate degree. FloArts is located on the SJRCC Palatka Campus. For more information, call 386-312-4300 or visit the Web site at www.floarts.org. PHOTO CAPTIONS: Katie McCreary and Chally Rowjohn pose in the traditional ballet "Coppˇlia" to be performed in the Florida School of the Arts "Spring Dance Gala." Return to SJRCC's 50th Anniversary page. Return to SJRCC home page.