Heather Mcgehee -for the Review.
The Fall Dance Showcase drew a substantial crowd to Ice Auditorium on Dec. 5.
The wide range of routines gave life to the show. Virtually every style was exhibited, with performances in ballet, African dance, modern and Irish Step Dance.
“It was great to watch the dancers perform in the pieces they choreographed themselves,” sophomore Kaia Machalek said. “I was impressed.”
Both teachers and students choreographed, and one routine was put together by a group independent of Linfield College.
The Mountain Warrior Kung Fu Academy’s Demo Team, a martial arts group from McMinnville, kicked the show into gear. Members of the group maneuvered themselves, each other and all manner of weaponry.
As if the Kung Fu wasn’t enough, the group also incorporated some showcase-worthy hip thrusting into its act. Having displayed both grade-A fighting and grooving, the Demo Team left the stage, but not without striking up the interest of many students.
“It was amazing! Any of those kids could beat me up,” Machalek said. “Which is exactly why Linfield needs a self-defense class.”
Sophomore Nicole Szanto took a more serious view of the performance.
“Any school with this many attractive women should be ashamed to not offer a serious self-defense class,” Szanto said.
Next, an Irish Step Dance was performed by freshman Cameron Allard, who has extensive training in the style, including 12 years of time spent at The Comerford School of Irish Dance.
“I’ve never seen feet move that quickly,” Machalek said.
A performance to the song “Cobrastyle” by Robyn also thrilled the audience. Choreographed by sophomore Elizabeth Bond, who danced in the performance, the routine had all the fishnet-clad ladies you could ever hope for, shucking and jiving across the stage. By most standards, nothing better could be asked of a performance, but there was a slight downside.
“I felt so awkward because there was an old lady and a toddler sitting in the front looking right at me,” sophomore JaeLyn Forthun, who performed in “Cobrastyle,” said.
She said she also enjoyed the Demo Team’s Kung Fu routine.
“It’s like they were oranges while I was an apple,” she said. “A dancing apple in fishnets.”