Alison Gatchell, Kamryn Bishop, Skyler Amaral, Addison Blake, and Felicity Lepine groove to Car Wash.
Ivy Ashe

Dancers Show Off Their Talents at Rise Spring Show

<p>The Rise dance company presented its spring showcase Sunday afternoon, with dancers leaping and tapping across the stage of the Oak Bluffs School.</p>

The Rise dance company presented its spring showcase Sunday afternoon, with dancers ages five to 17 leaping and tapping across the stage of the Oak Bluffs School. Young performers stole the show with big smiles in their Car Wash number, but the afternoon belonged to the older company dancers, who devote their hours to learning complex and intricate choreography for competition. The competitions take place throughout the year: the group traveled to the American Dance Awards regional competition in Lowell two weeks ago and will next go to Reading, Mass.

“These are girls who have chosen dance as their sport,” Rise director Jil Matrisciano said at the beginning of the show. The American Dance Awards, she added, was “one of the best competitions we’ve ever done as a group.”

“This is for them to have fun and showcase the fruits of their labor,” Ms. Matrisciano said of Sunday’s show.

Though the atmosphere was less high-pressure, it was no less a display of talent. Anna Nitardy’s perfect pirouettes in the opening ballet number brought the first cheers from the audience, and the applause continued from there. Josey Silva’s break dancing in her solo hip-hop number was a highlight, as was the clever tap choreography of the Vacation and Under Construction dances. The audience clapped along in time as Chloe Combra danced to Something’s Got A Hold On Me. In the aisle, two young girls watched the solos of Amelia Craig and Chloe Hoff. They, too, began to twirl.

View more photos from the Rise spring showcase.

Comments

Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on Fri, 04/03/2015 - 13:30

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Mary Edgartown

If you're going to name names in the Showcase, why not name them all, as each dancer was phenomenal....not good form to name favorites. Rise teaches the girls to be supportive, kind and "equal." Your reporting leaves out so many names...shame on you!

Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on Sat, 04/04/2015 - 11:41

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Anonymous Everywhere

Rise dancers are amazing! I love the company! Great girls! Everyone should try out a class at rise, it is a great place! -Rise Lover

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