Raices 2011

If you were fifteen minutes late for this year’s Raices, you had already missed the first half of the show. Though Raices had some fantastic dances, the show was relatively short compared to last year’s and the performances consisted mostly of dances, such as Tango and Cha-cha.

Raices started off with Palos Dance choreographed by Akeem Caballero. This dance was a shorter dance compared to the others. The dance demonstrated a celebration of culture and the ritual of banishing evil spirits. The Tango Dance was performed after Palos, and quickly became my favorite part of the show. Choreographed by Daniel Gonzalez, this part of the show depicted passion in Spanish culture as well as the struggle between love and hate.

There were a few technical difficulties that occurred during the night. This proved a little disturbing when it happened in the middle of a dance and performers had to give hand signals to request for the correct song to be played.

The Bachata Dance followed after the Tango; it was choreographed by Ricardo Ramos and Yoelvin Molina. This dance style originated in Dominican Republic and is also very common in Europe. The dance portrayed powerful motion through swift moves. During intermission, free appetizers were given out to audiences, including small Spanish snacks similar to Tapas. These appetizers were delicious and audience members seemed to enjoy them.

The show then continued with the Tongue Twister competition and Dance lessons on stage; these were more interactive parts of the show, where audience members were invited on stage to be a part of the performance.

A performance of poem written by Alexis Acosta followed the interactive section. The addition of poetry to the dance-dominated Raices was a nice change from past years. The reading was beautiful and I would love to see this part of performance to continue next year.

Finally the show ended with a modern Cha-Cha choreographed by Akeem Caballero. This dance was sexy and seductive as the performers danced to songs by Rihanna. After the dance, performers invited attendees up on stage to dance with them, which led the show to an interactive and exciting end.

Sophomore audience member, Nicole Hutchinson said she especially enjoyed the Cha-Cha dance and the appetizers, but she had hoped the show would have lasted longer. Hopefully Raices will expand its program next year to provide a lengthier show experience.