For Fresno City College dancers, national acclaim for ‘Dis(connect)’ takes them all the way to Jacob’s Pillow Dance Festival
By Olivia Pavao
Last week, Fresno City College hosted its 10th annual Dance Expo. The fun-filled day of master classes was enjoyed by dancers from all across the community. Each intensive class explored a different variation of the many styles and genres of dance, and the expo closed out the night with a gala performance from local groups and studios.
Pictured above: Fresno City College dancers are on their way to Jacob’s Pillow. Photo: Mike Miquel
For the Fresno City College Dance (FCC Dance) program, this was an especially exciting night -– the group performed a piece that has left an everlasting mark on FCC Dance’s history.
“The piece is titled ‘Dis(connect),’ where ‘dis’ is by itself, and then connect is in parentheses,” said Lauren Nishimoto, a member of FCC Dance’s team. “So it’s like the contrast between the two lifestyles that you would assume, with the ‘dis’ and the ‘connect’.”
This piece has had quite the journey within a groundbreaking year for FCC Dance, said Cristal Tiscareno, FCC Dance instructor and Dance Expo coordinator. It advanced through multiple rounds of competition in regional and national American College Dance Association (ACDA) events, including being invited to the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C.
In fact, “Dis(connect),” featuring eight dancers, was one of only five collegiate works selected across the nation to perform at the world renowned Jacob’s Pillow Dance Festival in Massachusetts. The performance is Wednesday, Aug. 6.
STORY CONTINUES AFTER SPONSORED CONTENT
“As it’s gone from Gala to Nationals to now Jacob’s Pillow is just absolutely insane and a true honor, especially since it’s the first time in Fresno City College history to even be chosen for Nationals,” Nishimoto said. “Going to Jacob’s Pillow… I can’t even wrap my head around it still, it’s insane.”
Jacob’s Pillow is a dream for many dancers and a reality for few.
“There’s only five colleges in the whole country that were selected for this so it’s really, really cool, especially for a community college,” said Haley Gilpin, a fellow dancer on the team. “We’re very, very proud and very happy. It’s a worldwide, international dance festival, so we’re thrilled to be selected to go.”
“Dis(connect)” was created by guest choreographer Hannah Millar, known in the dance community for her award-winning choreography. Eden Moua, one of the duet partners in the dance, enjoys telling the story through his movements.
“There’s a duet and there’s a group in the dance,” Moua said. “So the duet is a healthy relationship, and like, you know, we’re slow, we’re flowy and groovy. And then the group is like the toxic part of a relationship. The group wants what the duet has, but they can’t reach it, and then at the end, they just fall apart.”
Beyond the crowning achievement of being invited to Jacob’s Pillow, the dancers are is most grateful for the everlasting bond they have created with each other in doing something that is bigger than themselves, and look forward to what is in store for them moving forward.
“One of the most rewarding and most fulfilling parts of the whole experience was having that be recognized by adjudicators, being told that the reason why we’re getting selected for this stuff is because we were so connected on stage and we had so much emotion,” Gilpin said. “They could see the love we had for each other and for what we do.”
The FCC dance students are set to perform at Jacob’s Pillow as part of the ACDA conference highlights on Wednesday, Aug. 6, at 5:30 p.m on the Henry J. Leir Stage.
Olivia Pavao is the incoming lifestyle editor at The Collegian, Fresno State’s student newspaper, and a writer for The Munro Review.
