Tori Dennis of Chelsea and Sam Caronongan of Ypsilanti perform a dance named “New Beginnings” they choreographed together. GRAY BANCROFT | WASHTENAW VOICE
BY MADI TORTORA
Staff Writer
The talent of Washtenaw Community College faculty and students is unveiled in a compilation of performances called Bravo 50, to an eager audience. On Nov. 6, the show was made possible by a group of hardworking individuals. Noonie Anderson, a professional faculty of performing arts at WCC, helped this event come to be as an opportunity to show the lives that people have outside of the school environment.
Although new, this event was not the first of its kind. Anderson previously hosted a similar event, and was very pleased with the response she received.
“People really enjoyed it,” Anderson said. “The troublesome part was always that it’s hard for us to pull in an audience.”
A student and faculty band kicked off the Bravo 50 event with an amazing performance. GRAY BANCROFT | WASHTENAW VOICE
With hard work and some help from several technology students, Bravo 50 was a success. From singers to dancers, the event showcased a wide range of talents. Students by day but contemporary rumba performers by night, Tori Dennis from Chelsea and Sam Caronongan from Ypsilanti brought their chemistry to the dance floor, even though it was their first public performance together.
“I haven’t performed in two years,” Dennis said. “We were really nervous.”
Performers of all ages approached the stage like it was made for them and really made the entire audience feel welcomed.
“Some of the kids volunteered, the faculty and the staff contacted me,” Anderson said. “Many of the students and alumni I contacted.”
Dennis and Caronongan were both contacted to perform through being in two of Anderson’s dance classes. It was important, specifically to Anderson, to use this event to create an air of morale at the college.
“I did it because I truly believe that there is so many wonderful, positive things that people don’t know about our instructors and our staff,” Anderson said. “Our students also are such an integrated part in our community that we don’t always see what they do, and that they have outside lives.”
Marko Delic preformed a solo and has been dancing for 10 years. GRAY BANCROFT | WASHTENAW VOICE
Many students brought their outside lives onto the stage with them that night, including dancer Caronongan. After suffering bouts of depression from the loss of a sibling, Caronongan had to take a break from a lot of things to find himself.
“I stopped dancing. So it’s pretty important to me,” Caronongan said. “But dancing with Tori on stage, just those four minutes we were on, reminded me of a lot of stuff. You just feel happy when you’re up there.”
Bravo 50 was an opportunity for students, staff, and faculty alike to connect on a creative basis and express themselves to a wide range of an audience.
“When you get on stage, there are parts of the world that just go away – like we don’t see an audience,” Dennis said. “There is no pressure, as long as you are doing what you love to do with people that make you happy doing it.”
