The Cal Poly United Movement club will present the Illuminate Dance Showcase on Feb. 17. There will be two separate shows — a matinee at 1 p.m. and an evening performance at 7 p.m. Both will take place in Harold Miossi Hall at the Performing Arts Center.
Illuminate, an annual showcase returning for its sixth year, highlights the diverse dance community found at Cal Poly, according to the United Movement website.
“The goal was to create another opportunity to basically, as the name states, illuminate the cultural dance clubs on campus,” Illuminate Director and architecture sophomore Crystal Doan said. “A lot of times it’s just about representation and seeing the people that are like you on stage.”
According to the United Movement website, the showcase intends to help both the dancers and audience “connect and understand” while creating “a moment of unity and togetherness” through dance.
“People can put dance in a box,” United Movement co-president and industrial technology and packaging senior Bella McLoy said.
She also said that when people think of dance they often conjure up images of ballet or other traditional styles. As a Hui ‘O Hawai’i member, Illuminate is special because it exposes her to dances from different cultures that she might not see otherwise.
“This show is really unique because all the different clubs are able to showcase their own styles in ways that they might not be able to outside of Illuminate,” McLoy said.
14 total clubs and dance groups will be performing during this year’s showcase, including Hui ‘O Hawai’i, Imagen y Espíritu Ballet Folklórico, Kaja Krew and Lion Dance Team.
“We really want to use our stage to present them an opportunity to showcase their culture and their dance,” co-president and business administration senior Avanti Gummaraju said.
United Movement is a non-audition dance club at Cal Poly that encourages individuals of diverse backgrounds and abilities to come together to learn and grow as dancers and individuals. According to the club website, United Movement upholds a motto of: “Growth in Community; Community in Growth.”
Members of United Movement dance in “open style,” which according to Gummaraju, who will be dancing for United Movement and K-Pop cover group Kaja Krew, “focuses a lot more on the blend of different dance genres and dance styles.”
Kinesiology sophomore Eva Horovitz said that unlike some traditional productions that can be very selective, United Movement invites anyone who wants to participate to join the showcase. As a dancer for Merge — a contemporary dance team on campus — and United Movement, Horovitz said that one of her favorite parts of the club and the showcase is its inclusivity and welcoming environment.
“It’s really awesome to see the variety of [dance skill] levels because it just shows that anyone can be a part of it, anyone can dance, anyone can be on stage and you just need to put in the work and it’s going to be a good time,” Horovitz said.
Doors will open one hour prior to the performance, with each show lasting roughly two hours with a 20-minute intermission. Some music in the performances may contain explicit language, according to the Performing Art Center website.
Presale general admission tickets are $15 for Cal Poly faculty, staff and students, and $18 for adults. Tickets may be purchased at pacslo.org, with the evening show currently sold out and the 1 p.m. matinee with limited availability.