As you may or may not know, I had been chosen to be a choreographer for
the cha-cha dance for Fiesta 1997.(This is almost like the Cotton Club; it is
mainly a big talent showcase for showing aspects of Latino culture; and I know
that the liveliest part of it comes from dancing.). The cha-cha auditions will
be set for Sunday, February 9, at 5 p.m. at the Armory(the building west of
the Graduate Library and south of the Ice Arena, and north of the outdoor
tennis courts, all surronding the building.) This building is about 1/2
block long and has a indoor track. It'll be held in rooms 384 and 386.
I am looking for members of the Dancing Illini who deeply love the cha-
cha so much that they want to perform it on stage at the Foellinger Auditorium.
(tentatively, the event is set for April 18). It will be a big part of your
life!
What were my inspirations for cha-cha dancing? Here they are:
--seeing the cha-cha demonstration at the "Welcome Back" dance
--learning cha-cha at the YMCA with teacher Aurora Villacorta
--learning cha-cha with guest teacher and professional ballroom dancer
Kathryn Schaffer last year at the Illini Union ballroom; I was involved when
she taught over 100 people
--trying to come up with new cha-cha moves of my own; not just focusing on the
traditional moves(side breaks, push-away turns, "chase" challenges, and the
like).
The auditions will mainly be in 2 to 10 groups of couples dancing a section
of my routine(already wriiten beforehand)for about 10 minutes. I will set up
time slots in 10 minutes each. I will pick about 4 to as much as 8 couples to
do my rehearsals leading up to the Fiesta performance. My partial list of
criteria that will make me decide the selected couples are--
--ease in footwork
--ability in following the steps and patterns
--sense of rhythm
--overall spirit in the dance
Sorry--I won't spill the beans on the song for the cha-cha yet. The
surprise will be revealed only if you actually come to the auditions! But
it will be a song that you might have heard a lot in the "cha-cha" dance
sections in most of the Dancing Illini dances.
Although I am a piano major, my love for dancing is much greater than ever.
With my musical ability, I will deeply use it to my advantage when you and I
dance the cha-cha. I urge you strongly to come out and give it a try at the
tryouts--I need a lot of auditionees! And if you do not make it, there's always
next time. There will be other dance auditions.
Anyway, I'll see you at the auditions, and I love to see you dance!
Charles Smith
URH, 166 Daniels Hall
1010 West Green Street
Urbana, Illinois 61801-3097
(217)332-2425
cjsmith2@uiuc.edu