On the Town: From Sinatra to Madonna, student dancers channel the icons at Red Chair recital
From the 1940s on through to the first decade of the 2000s, few individuals have defined their generation like Frank Sinatra, Elvis Presley, Aretha Franklin, Michael Jackson and Madonna. In a balletic tribute to these musical legends, the Red Chair Children’s Production Co., in association with the Burbank-based Red Chair Dance Center, presented its annual student recital, Showcase 2017, this past week.
Staged at the Luther Middle School Auditorium, this year’s presentation titled “Iconic” saw the company’s performers utilize their skills in ballet, tap, jazz, hip-hop and contemporary dance to remember and honor five of music’s greatest icons.
Staged under the direction of Jennifer Thompson-Bosco, Christine Dent and Sylvia Kelman and produced by Gabrielle Edinburgh-Wald and Anna Smith, last week’s performance featured the talents of the dance center’s students which included standouts Lena Harris and Rebecca Levin.
Harris, who has been dancing with the company since 2005, will be entering her senior year at Burbank High School in the fall. She has been involved with the American Ballet Theatre curriculum for eight years and earlier this year she placed second in the Los Angeles Youth America Grand Prix, one of the nation’s most prestigious dance competitions.
As a part of the Youth America Grand Prix program, each season culminates in the weeklong finals held in New York, where more than 1,200 of the world’s most promising dancers compete while receiving in-depth mentoring to help them secure scholarships, as well as professional and performance opportunities. At this year’s finals, held in April, Harris competed through the semifinals and also performed at Lincoln Center.
Before heading back for her last year at Burbank High, she will be doing summer study programs with the Houston Ballet, the San Francisco Ballet, and the Los Angeles Ballet Academy as well as a Washington, D.C. intensive.
Levin, who just graduated from Oakwood Prep High School in North Hollywood, is in her final year with the Red Chair Children’s Co and will be matriculating at Butler University in Indiana where she will continue to study classical ballet.
A member of the company for 12 years, she has been accepted into countless dance intensives over the years and this summer will study with the Milwaukee Ballet, the Kansas City Ballet and the Ballet Austin summer programs.
The Red Chair Children’s Production Co.’s mission is to inspire, motivate, mentor and share the physical arts with students between the ages of 3 and 20 through extraordinary dance and performing arts experiences. Founded in 2005, its program is designed to support students as they develop into confident, young, artistic performers who grow into creative, artistic adults.
For more information on the Red Chair Children’s Production Co., call (818) 640-4645 or visit www.redchairproductions.org.
DAVID LAURELL may be reached by email at dlaurell@aol.com or (818) 563-1007.
