Oklahoma City University’s American Spirit Dance Company will celebrate American dance from Broadway to Hollywood as they present the spring Broadway Revue from March 7 to 9.
This year the OCU Starettes will kick off the show with a routine worthy of a performance at Radio City Music Hall, said Director Jo Rowan.
“Our dancers cut loose with an exciting tap dance using chairs to the music of the movie ‘Footloose’ and then the dance ‘Cool’ from ‘West Side Story,’” Rowan noted.
The audience will get a taste of the “Wild West,” with a balletic number set to Aaron Copland’s iconic “Rodeo” score. Rowan said the number incorporates the strength and determination of Oklahoma’s cowboys.
“Summer Montage” presents a fast-paced tap and jazz competition which ultimately unifies the two styles into a dynamic duo before dancers get lost in a music video to the song “Melody,” an expression of the passionate connection humans have to music and how it can provide an emotional escape. In “The Pines,” show goers can take a lyrical fairy stroll in the moonlight and discover a moving mystery magical realm.
In Act 2, “Never Enough,” a beautiful love story to music from the movie “The Greatest Showman,” tells the story of a woman who declares that her relationship is more important than all the fame and money in the world.
Rowan added that musicals with a Latin beat are the rage of Broadway.
“Our couples dance to a sizzling Samba retro beat that is sure to ‘Spice Up Your Life,’” she noted. “Our dancers’ high-energy tap dancing to sensational music with fascinating rhythms is sure to get your feet tapping and your soul swaying to ‘Feet Don’t Fail Me Now,’ ‘Sibling Rivalry,’ and the classic ‘Dr. Buster Brown’s Laura.’”
The show also features disco with “Knock on Wood.” “Yes, jumpsuits, big hair and sequins,” Rowan noted. “More is more in this flashback to 1979.”
The exquisite music composition of Justin Hurwitz from the movie “La La Land” is brought to life in “Lovely Night” as stunning dancers embody the night sky and create the romance that brings two reluctant young people together.
All of these dances and more from film, ballet and musicals are part of this year’s Broadway Revue, featuring the professional performers of tomorrow. OCU’s Ann Lacy School of American Dance and Entertainment has been named the No. 1 BFA dance program in the nation by OnStage.
Show times are 8 p.m. March 7 and 8 and 2 and 8 p.m. March 9. For tickets, call 405-208-5227 or visit okcu.edu/tickets.
