Emerge Sensorium Program_December2020

emerge

sensorium dancing with your senses

Premiering on “A Very Conservatory Christmas�

December 17th | 7:30pm

View Performance: vimeo.com/vcsconservatory 2020-21 Season

Director’s Notes Welcome to this year’s Valley Christian High School Fall Dance Presentation of EMERGE: Sensorium.

This year the Dance Department had to do a tremendous pivot to totally reimagine the way we think about the Fall Dance Show. Throughout the summer, the production staff wrestled with questions like… How do we view dance in a pandemic? Will it be the same? How do we create community in this time of disconnection?

After months of thought and prayer, our main purpose kept sending us back to why we DANCE. We DANCE to bring glory and honor to the Lord even in this non-ideal situation We DANCE to build and sustain the richness of a diverse community of fellow believers in a very disconnected time.

Finally, We DANCE because it is how we show our love, tell our stories and display our talents and passion God has provided us to hopefully impact the world for the better.

I was quickly drawn to the five senses. How we interpret our environment, linked so closely to our memory and experience of living. The title Sensorium means “seat of sensation”. These include the sensation, perception, and interpretation of information about the world around us by using faculties of the mind such as senses, phenomenal and psychological perception, cognition, and intelligence.

Through a three month mentoring program of our most talented Valley Christian dancers, our students have had the privilege of learning from highly esteemed professional artists. Our students have worked tremendously hard developing, and refining their technical craft to put on this production. Our young artists have displayed maturity, vulnerability and professionalism that should be applauded!

So, yes this year is very different and no our purpose has not changed! However, our format has… it does feel scary but also pretty cool! The challenge of creating a Dance Movie has forced us to change gears, take a step back and create something new! It has been an opportunity to practice our flexibility, open our minds and tell different stories. It has made us truly rely on God’s provision and guidance for the story he would like us to tell. I hope you find this show to be one of resilience, beauty, grace and grit!

It is our sincerest hope within our production that you will be challenged, encouraged, and inspired by God’s glory and purpose for us all. His story of love, grace and peace; that we believe can be revealed through dance, as God works through our talented students.

Many Blessings, Michelle McLaughlin Associate Director of Student Learning- Conservatory of the Arts K-12 Director of Dance 2

emerge

sensorium dancing with your senses

Director......................................................................Michelle McLaughlin

Assistant Director............................................................... Colette Evans Film Producer..........................................................................Mark Kocina Choreographer(s).........................................Tori Evans, Sarah Kocina, Damien Martinez, Michelle McLaughlin Lighting Design.................................................................... Keaton Miller Costume Design..................................................................Colette Evans Shoot locations: Alviso Marina County Park Alviso, a 20.6-acre bayside park/wildlife refuge Alum Rock Park San Jose, California’s oldest municipal park established in 1872 Mary Street Bridge Cupertino, pedestrian/bike foot bridge Nor Cal Dance Arts San Jose San Jose Urban Art Trail Downtown San Jose These murals tell the stories of the people who drew them or the surrounding area. We wanted to share them with you. https://www.bayarea.com/things-to-do/san-jose-street-art-trail/ “Afternoon” by Sainer to “create an awareness of an artistic presence in the public”. St John Street on the retaining wall beside HWY 87.

“Life Abundant in the Face of Death Imminent” by Jim Miner. The cornucopia is a reminder of the regions agriculturally rich past. On the side of the De Anza Hotel West Santa Clara St. “What you are, I once was; What I am, you shall be” by Stephanie Azevedo this pays homage to California and the recent drought. On the wall of Salon Blu on S Market Street.

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Program The Maze Emily Rosa under the direction of Michelle McLaughlin The Maze by Manchester Orchestra Emily Rosa Taste Damien Martinez Power on Self-Test by Supertask Alice Duong, Julia Lopez, Lisa Pressler, Rebecca Rebello, Mia Suzuki This Time Tiffany Nguyen under the direction of Michelle McLaughlin This Time by Son Lux Tiffany Nguyen Sound Sarah Kocina I won’t Complain by Benjamin Clementine Choreographer; Nicole Yavorski Dancers; Diya Deshpande, Sharis Hsu, Taye Jones, Elaine Wang Constellations Angela Wang under the direction of Michelle McLaughlin Constellations by Ellie Holcomb Angela Wang Ensemble Katelyn Chan, Estella Chen, Amelia King, Emily Luong, Rhys McIntyre, Moorea Muth, Jessica Rogy Easy Paloma Flores under the direction of Michelle McLaughlin Easy by Son Lux featuring Lorde Paloma Flores Sight Tori Evans Eyes on Fire by Zeds Dead Remix Cece Gu, Adrina Hsieh, Angela Li, Emma Nabokov, Callie Newsom, Mia Zhang Sight Sound Taste Touch Small group ensemble directed by Michelle McLaughlin Atlas: Son by Sleeping at Last Paloma Flores, Angela Li, Tiffany Nguyen, Emily Rosa, Angela Wang 4

Biographies Paloma Flores is a senior at Valley Christian High School. This is her sixth dance show at school and she is very excited about it. She has been dancing since she was three years old and still loves doing it. She loves dancing because it makes her feel free and at peace. Her favorite styles include: hip-hop, contemporary, and lyrical. Some other things she enjoys in her spare time are drawing, watching movies, going to the beach, and hanging out with friends. After senior year, she plans on going to college to study marine biology and taking dance classes after school.

Tiffany Nguyen is a current senior and enjoys many diversified passions including dancing, photography, reading, and painting. After dancing for roughly 6 years, she enjoys various styles of dance from contemporary and lyrical to jazz and the occasional hip hop. As this is her last year of high school, she has created lasting memories with her friends in the VCHS dance community and hopes to continue dancing recreationally in college. Dance has provided a meaningful outlet of artistic expression for Tiffany, and though she hopes to major in business for her career, dance will always be a part of her concrete identity. With support and love from her friends and family, she is extremely thankful for the many opportunities VCHS has to offer.

Emily Rosa is a senior at Valley and has been a part of the dance department since 7th grade. This is her fourth year dancing in Emerge. She has been dancing since she was two and has never stopped. Besides dance, she likes to paint, shop, and play with her three dogs. She also loves anything related to Disney and is sad the parks are closed but hopes they open soon. She hopes to go to the East Coast for college and pursue a dance and choreography career over there as well. Emily aspires to one day become a full-time choreographer or dance teacher.

Angela Wang is a senior, and this is her 6th year of being a part of Valley Christian’s dance program. She is also a part of the Vivid Dance Team and has been dancing a total of 13 years. Some of her favorite styles include contemporary, jazz, and lyrical. She grew up learning and competing Chinese dance for 11 years but has been able to explore many more styles with the Valley dance department. Angela is incredibly thankful for her dance coaches—MC, Coach Colette, and Coach Chloe—her teammates, her parents, her choreographers, and the VCHS dance department. She hopes to cherish her dance journey at Valley and would like to continue it in college and beyond.

Mark Kocina has over 20 years of professional photography and videography experience…and yes, he does look too young to have that much experience. Mark graduated from SJSU with a degree in Photojournalism and a minor in TV/Film, followed by an Emmy-award-winning stint at Cal-Hi Sports Bay Area. Mark has been working closely with Valley Christian since 2008. Filling in as a long-term sub in 2009, Mark met his wife Sarah (the then dance teacher at VC) and, in addition to marrying the best woman ever, his career in dance photo and video began. He is currently the Photography Specialist in the Office of Communication at The Harker School. Mark is excited to share in this amazing new opportunity to bring the beauty of dance to a new platform. He would like to thank his amazing wife for working overtime with their two girls while he was filming and editing this show…and for being my best friend. He would also like to thank Colette and Michelle for being super awesome and supporting all my weird ideas on this project.

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Choreographer Biographies Tori Evans is a Valley Christian alumni born in Connecticut but raised in northern California, where she trained at Lana’s Dance Studio for 15 years. She received a dance scholarship to the University of Arizona where she obtained her BFA. While at Arizona, Tori was part of LADM Company for two years. She personally assisted, Dave Carter along with Jackie Sleight, Christian Vincent, Huggy Ford, Leo Morimune and Dejan Tubic. After graduating college, Tori toured internationally with Barbie Live! The Musical, Empire of the Sun and Ricky Martin. She returned from tour and moved to Los Angeles where she works currently with companies such as Reebok, Lululemon and Sketchers. She has worked with artists such as Maroon 5, Pitbull, Backstreet Boys, Mary J. Blige and most recently Beyonce. Tori’s TV credits include Miss America, Latin Grammys, A Christmas Story Live, The Price is Right, Kelly Clarkson, and can be seen on the last 3 seasons of the Masked Singer. Tori brings her extensive experience and love for the art to the forefront whenever she teaches workshops around the world.

Sarah Kocina began dancing when she was four years old and grew up training at various studios, conventions, and workshops in San Jose. Mrs. Kocina has trained in ballet, jazz, lyrical, modern, and contemporary, but has made contemporary dance her primary focus. Sarah attended San Jose State University as a double major in Dance and English. At SJSU, she developed a love for the expression and style of contemporary dance while performing with University Dance Theater (SJSU’s performing company). She graduated in May 2007 with a BA in Dance and English as well as a CA single-subject teaching credential. Mrs. Kocina performed with the San Jose Stealth Spy Girls from 2005-2007 and directed the team in 2008. She has performed with Ross Dance Company, Scratch for Bloomin’, Rugged Dance Company, and Flex Dance Company. Mrs. Kocina has been recognized for her choreography winning Best Choreography at USA and ADA dance competitions. Sarah continues to choreograph for high school, pre-professional, collegiate, and professional dance companies. Mrs. Kocina is truly grateful for the opportunity to continue working with the wonderful dancers and staff at Valley Christian Schools.

Damien Martinez was born and raised in Morgan Hill, California and started dancing at the age of 9. He first started training at Lana’s Dance Studio in Tap and Hip-Hop. A few years later, he started dancing competitively and trained in all styles including, Jazz, Ballet, and Lyrical. When he graduated from Live Oak High School, he was accepted into the University of Arizona BFA Dance Program. He then came back home to run Lana’s Dance Studio’s Hip-Hop competitive teams for a few years.

Damien is now living in the bay area working mostly as a choreographer and traveling back and forth to Los Angeles to pursue his dance career.

Michelle McLaughlin brings over twenty years of performing and teaching experience to the Valley Christian Conservatory. Mrs. McLaughlin holds a Master of Fine Arts in Dance & Choreography from Sarah Lawrence College and a Bachelor of Arts in Dance from the University of California Riverside. Mrs. McLaughlin joined VCS in 2013, and is currently the Associate Director of Student Learning for the Conservatory as well as the Director of the Valley Christian Dance Department K-12.

Annual Gifts to the

WARRIOR FUND

Each family is asked to contribute annually in support of Valley Christian Schools. Annual gifts to the WARRIOR FUND are used to increase the general operating budget for the fiscal year and to ensure that each student at VCS has the opportunity to succeed. The executive leadership team is committed to being good stewards of your generous contributions by providing excellent opportunities for every student—from awardwinning academic programs and extracurricular activities, to outstanding facilities and maintenance, and much more.

Support the WARRIOR FUND at our exciting upcoming event:

uest Ball presented by Extend the Gift

Virtual AuctionQuest & Celebration 3rd Annual Ball

Mark your calendars now for March 13, 2021!

Get ready for a memorable evening for our entire community with a Virtual Auction and Celebration in lieu of our annual Quest Ball.

Valley Christian Schools’

3rd Annual Quest Ball Dinner and Auction We may not be able to gather in person, we can join together to th Saturday, March 25but Stand for Valley’s Kids and at Extend the Gift of Christian education!

Villa Ragusa The Quest Ball has been ourCampbell, biggest fundraiser California because of our incredible community. Let’s connect to celebrate our amazing VCS students while Come for an evening delicious and Scholarships! supporting our WARRIOR FUND andof Youth withfood Promise drinks, great company, and one-of-a-kind Thank auction you for partnering us Valley in creating Warriors: items all to with benefit Christian Schools.

Don’t miss out on to one of VCS’ Tomorrow’s leaders properly equipped serve Godmost and family while memorable evenings of the year and and the yourworld. positively impacting their community opportunity to extend the gift of Christian education to others.

Christi Stockhaus, Director of Advancement cstockhaus@vcs.net | 408-362-7649

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MISSION STATEMENT Valley Christian Schools’ mission is to provide a nurturing environment offering quality education supported by a strong foundation of Christian values in partnership with parents, equipping students to become leaders to serve God, to serve their families, and to positively impact their communities and the world.

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VISION STATEMENT A world where every student pursues their personal Quest for Excellence™.

FOUNDING STATEMENT Valley Christian Schools supports the homes and churches of students in providing an education that is grounded in the Judeo-Christian values of the Bible, as reflected in the life and teaching of Jesus Christ. Valley Christian Schools is committed to a Quest for Excellence™ in all of its educational programs and provides a comprehensive kindergarten through twelfth grade curriculum with a rigorous college preparatory program. Firmly founded on Christian values, Valley Christian Schools challenges youth to aspire toward lives of character, service and influence while pursuing their individual Quests for Excellence.

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apply.vcs.net To support VCS, please call the Extend the Gift Development Office at (408) 362-7644.

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