Glendale dance students performed their way to success in this year’s student choreographed performance featuring a collection of different pieces.

With budget cuts eliminating production support staff, the dancer’s raw talent shined even without elaborate costumes or sets.

Dance Performance 2010 featured pieces choreographed by the students and included an assortment of pieces from hip-hop inspired pieces like “4 out of 5” by Aliem Jiles to the Latin flavored piece “Le Tango” by Pam Wellington.

The performances ranged from small groups of five or six dancers to the larger groups where the students really excelled with the entire dance company of 33 on stage. Some pieces also included students from the jazz performance skills class. These pieces, like the first piece “Manipulation” by Amanda Richardson and the finale “Army of One” by Lily Sargsyan, utilized the large group by putting dancers on different levels of the stage to create the illusion of height and depth.

The piece “Ahhhhhhhh!” by Parker Harris, which featured the song “Do You Remember” by Jay Sean, was set in a classroom with the guy trying to get the girl. The piece included a shout out to the faculties’ current struggle when it ended with the teacher sitting in the empty classroom pulling out a cigarette.

Some of the most entertaining pieces showcased dancer Reonaldo Cho, who was able to bring laughter with his remarkable talent of personifying his character.

In “Fruge!” Cho played a love-struck man on a mission to deliver flowers to his lady love in a posh and crowded club while being continually blocked or drawn away from getting to the girl. Another amusing piece was “Ahhhhhhhh!,” in which Cho played up his Asian charm as he made lovey dovey faces while pursuing yet another girl.

“The Lady ‘MAN’ olades” by Harout Aristakessian was a play on the Lady Marmalade song made famous in “Moulin Rouge.” The very suggestive theme of this piece was obvious from the interactions of male with male and female with female dancing.

From the soft and quite ballet pieces like “Looking” by Reonaldo Cho, to the more loud and energetic pieces like “Impact Spill” by Patt Paczynski, the skills and abilities of the dance department shined.

Even though the costumes and staging were very simple and bare it didn’t take away from the quality of the performance. Being a student choreographed performance with limited flourishes this production held its own.

For additional information call Lynn McMurrey at (818) 240-1000, ext. 5556.