Santa Clara’s Roberta Mary Louise Mello auditorium was packed with eager family members of the young dancers performing at the children’s dance recital hosted by the Santa Clara Parks and Recreation Department on June 1. Molly Crawford, Miss Santa Clara 2013, was the emcee of the event.
“This year our theme is 5, 6, 7, 8 Dance!” said Robin Shaddle, Santa Clara recreation coordinator. “It refers to the way people say ‘5, 6, 7 , 8′ before they dance. There’s a counting theme in the song selections.”
A number of the 10 dances in the recital featured tap and ballet. Toddlers in tiaras danced to “Once There Was a Princess.” Another group of toddlers squatted and flapped their arms like birds to “Three Little Birds.” Girls donned cowboy hats and swung from each other’s arms to “You’re Still the One.” Other girls arched their arms to “Count on Me.”
Toddler boys in jeans and hooded jackets and toddler girls in faux pink furs got funky hip-hop dancing to “Call Me Maybe.” Teen and ‘tween jazz dancers sizzled up the stage to “Land of 1000 Dances.” Another group of teen and ‘tweens performed an acrobatics number to “1999.”
Krista Buzolich, Miss Santa Clara’s Outstanding Teen 2013, showed her spunk dancing to “Part of Me.” Gwyneth Forrester performed a patriotic pointe ballet solo to “Stars and Stripes.” Teaching assistants danced to “50 Ways to Say Goodbye.”
There were five recitals spotlighting children on Saturday. Approximately 80 to 90 children danced in each recital, overseen by instructors Kimberly Davey, Linnea Sheehy, and Susan Van Dyne. Two recitals for adult and advanced teen dancers were held on May 31.