DECEMBER 9, 2011
VITAL SIGNS
PAGE 3
FEATURES
VOL. XV, ISSUE iv
FEATURES
Dancing at New York
By ENRIQUE MARROQUIN
Francisco Bravo Medical Magnet Senior High School is one of the highest achieving schools in California, and it hasn’t failed in creating a shining name for itself in the world of academics. However, within Bravo there is a team that expresses the art of cultural dance. Bravo’s own Dances of the World performed in the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade held in New York, participating in the Spirit of America Dance Team consisting of more than 50 of the top dance teams in America. Their stay was from November 19 to November 25, and they became the only school from California to be performing in this event. Being a part of this parade requires the mentality of growth and the concept of ground work (working one’s way up from the grassroots level of a skill). Preparing for this performance took long hours of practice: one week of practice and hard days of practice held in New York. The Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade is a festive event in which floats and performances from across the nation dazzle the city with an array of floats, dancers, bands, and musical performances.
“The concept to achieving an opportunity like this is focused on how the team has built itself from the ground-up. The focus of Dances of the World is to intertwine the many ethnic groups of Bravo and combine them into harmonious dances. In order to achieve an opportunity like this, it was not easy. Hard work from the team kept the constant success in a flow, by making a name for themselves and bringing out that extra potential that is within a student. The base of the hard work is to focus on the inside and express that feel upon stage and when performing. To focus on the potential of a student is my whole my premise. It’s about you moving forward. It’s not the dancing, it’s the growth. Don’t let the exterior define who you are; Define who you are by the interior.” ... Ms. Ana Cobian Gomez, Dances of the World Director
The Macy’s parade was aired on television on Thanksgiving Day at 9 a.m. on channel 4. The Dances of the World girls performed a circus-themed routine. Even though only 10 girls went to participate in this festive parade, these girls represented Bravo and Dances
SARAH PEREZ Vital Signs
Comedic • Joseph Sepulveda, starring as Wayne, shows how hard it is to show a girl how much you like her, and how easy it is to stalk one.
Small Worlds By AJ SANIANO
The Lecture Hall is lit and the props are set up. The audience mumbles for minutes until Mr. Ryden runs up to the stage to welcome the audience. The Lecture Hall is dim, and the stage is set. The playful French music
introduces the first of four plays. Sorry, by Timothy Mason, starred Joseph Sepulveda (12’) as Wayne and Janelle Graves (11’) as Pat in a game of cat and mouse. Pat brings Wayne in with a bleeding leg and rushes around, panicking to
JASMINE MONTANES Vital Signs
DANCES GIRLS admit to being anxious before showing up on live television in New York, but they still manage to pull off amazing smiles. of the World: Katie Villabroza (’12), Christine Shin (’13), and Brianna Gomez (’13) as ring masters; Briana Blanco Johnson (’12) , Vanessa Alschuler (’12), Melissa Samples (’12), Yasmin Valenzuela (’12), Jesica Nares (’12), Laura Naranjo (’12) as Tight rope walkers; and Stephanie Bonchirt (’12) as a cupcake girl. Dances of the World has continued to grow and made a name for itself, but what is
growth without the groundwork? Dances of the World has grown from its constant experiences and performances in notably famous venues: in the CAHPERD Award Dance Program (1995), Sister T.V. (1996), NBC Studios Performance (1997), Kobe Bryant Promotional Video (1997), Greek Theatre (1998), Unity Day LAUSD (1998), and in their annual performances at Disneyland .
help him. Taking off his pants, she playfully dabs alcohol in his fresh, grazed wound as Wayne wails in pain. As they assess each other, Pat talks about her crime-stricken life and slowly comes to realize who she’s let in her house: her stalker from across the courtyard. Chaos breaks out and Pat becomes furious with rage. Wayne tries to quell her anger by saying that he has feelings for her. Her rage slowly dies down and helps Wayne out the door, seeing the man she likes walk away. Second Beam, by Joan Ackermann, starred Alejandra Almaguer (12’) as Jennifer, Maria Ortiz (12’) as Meg, Carissa Salazar (’11) as Patti, Rene Carillo (12’) as Ethan Schroeder and a cameo of Britney Mancillas (12’) as Georgia. The three nervous actors sit and read their script. Jennifer, practically sweating out her anxiety, wipes with away with a tissue to the underarm, courtesy of Meg. The two exchange small talk about previous castings until they got to common ground: Patti Scherer. That led to the scripts they have previously read, including the concept of stopping light in a jar of chilled sodium gas, Meg’s favorite. Soon, Patti comes in and wrecks the already unstable Jennifer, coercing her to leave. Meg chases after Jennifer, lecturing her on how to be a better actor. After sprucing her up, Meg leaves the room, leaving behind a confident, yet clueless Jennifer ready to audition for an attractive Seth Rogen.
The Office, by Kate Hoffower, starred Karen Guzman (13’), Tania Cortez (14’) and Esther Martinez (14’) all as themselves. Another day at the office brought the three workers to boredom. As Esther played make-believe with a staple remover and a binder clip, the two were plotting to kill their obnoxious, “self-patting” boss by feeding him excess amounts of food. Then the subject changes to how they got to where they are now: Karen always wanted to be a professional musician, and Tania always wanted to be a brain surgeon, as suggested by her sarcastic mom, but both ended up in cubicles. With Esther making a post-it face and reading magazines about weapons, the girls thought of wearing their bras outside of their shirts to break the monotonous cycle of their day. Esther whips hers out like a pro, Karen slowly unlatches hers, and Tania struggled to get hers back on, bringing the audience to tears from laughter. After an adventurous feat, the three resent to boredom and Esther ends the play by slamming her boredomfilled head on her desk. Small World, by Tracy Scott Wilson, starred Jessica Morga (13’) as Stacey, Leticia Olmedo (12’) as Alice, Maria Ortiz (12’) as Lucy, Juan Llamas (12’) as Bob, Joseph Sepulveda (12’) as Tim, and Rene Carillo (12’) as Bill. All three couples intertwine their stories, | see BRAVO PLAY, page 6 |