We hear about many successes and achievements of Arcadia High School students. On Saturday I was impressed and inspired by a dazzling dance performance produced by a dozen former AHS students at a performing arts theater in Baldwin Park.
by Scott Hettrick
Twelve of the 18 members of the Evoke Dance Company, including the three founders, Jeniffer Hsu, Justine Hsu, and Josephine Lau, hail from Arcadia and are now mostly twenty-something university graduates. The 21 songs they chose, and their choreography, costuming, and complex and immaculate dance steps were a joy to watch and truly evoked emotions from more than 500 enthralled audience members.
The performances in the program called “Life Renditions” portrayed “defining moments, attitudes, struggles, and experiences during various stages of life.” A number called “The Crash,” depicted a broken relationship between a young man and woman with the heartfelt emotion comparable to the quality and power of a performance on the TV show “So You Think You Can Dance.” A mash-up of multiple songs and styles called “Travelers Unite” featured eight of the principle dancers wearing masks as they performed delightfully rapid-fire steps, hand movements, and facial expressions. And the whimsical “Too Cool For School” presented many of the dancers dressed in brightly-colored child-like outfits as they expressed the unbridled enthusiasm of elementary school students to the music of The Jackson Five’s “A-B-C” and Lil Mama’s “G-Slide.”
Justine and Jeniffer Hsu, and Josephine Lau
Even more inspiring than the program and the performances was the realization that these young adults are choosing to do this completely on their own, without the structure of a high school, university or pre-existing organization. What’s more, they donate a portion of proceeds to worthy organizations, in this case, the Feed the Children charity.
These upbeat individuals are not sitting around watching TV, playing video games, hanging out at clubs, or getting into myriad forms of trouble. In fact, almost all of them have full-time jobs and many are nurturing relationships and even marriages. And yet, they still devoted many late nights and weekends during the past four months to creating this show and practicing several times a week. <Story continues below following video produced by Evoke about their company and mission.>
In the midst of all that, they recently responded to my request on behalf of the Arcadia Chamber of Commerce to lead and instruct 100 amateurs ranging in age from five to 75 to learn and perform an unprecedented flash mob dance at Santa Anita Park April 21 to raise awareness for the American Cancer Society’s Relay for Life. That took place just a week before their own performance.
Justine, Josephine, Jeniffer, and the Evoke Dance Company are living their mission to “dance, evoke, and give.”
Margaret Mead said, “Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed people can change the world. Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has.” I don’t know if members of Evoke have any such lofty ambitions to change the world, but the attitude and performances of Evoke are having a positive impact on everyone they touch.
— By Scott Hettrick