Dance students at Esperanza High School attend collaborative performance at UCI

Thirty beginning and intermediate Esperanza High School dance students recently attended a matinee performance of “East Meets West” at the University of California, Irvine Barclay Theater. This performance is a collaboration between UCI Department of Dance, Shanghai Normal University, and Beijing Normal University that began in 2015. It is a week-long collaborative exchange series of classes and events.

The performance included a series of dances from Festival Ballet (a local professional company), UCI Dance Department, Shanghai and Beijing Universities, and other dance professionals. For many of these dance students, it was their first time performing in a professional theater.

Esperanza’s attendance was made possible by UCI which offer grants for the students’ transportation to the event. After the performance, the theater ushers commented on how well behaved the Esperanza High School students were in the theater.

It was a wonderful, enriching field trip for the beginning and intermediate dance students.