A continuing legacy of dance
The legacy of American Dance of San Luis Obispo founder Pat Jackson lives on at CORE Dance Company.
Her photograph hangs in the hallway of the company’s small San Luis Obispo studio. Her name crops up frequently in conversation. And before each performance, the dancers stand in a circle and say “Shine” — just as they did in Jackson’s day.
“She meant so much to so many people,” company co-owner Stacy Estrada said of Jackson, who died of breast cancer 15 years ago. “She’s very much a part of what we’re doing at CORE.”
The dance company presents its annual “CORE: Rhythms” show Saturday and Sunday at the San Luis Obispo Performing Arts Center. Part of the proceeds from the show, which includes a tribute to Jackson, will benefit breast cancer research.
“Pat played such an important part in all our lives,” fellow co-owner Leslie Baumberger said. “We want people to remember her because we remember her every day.”
An end and a beginning
When American Dance owner Lissa Beck retired in August 2010, shuttering a county institution that had lasted about four decades, three former teachers —Baumberger, Estrada and Rose Patti—decided to form CORE.
American Dance alumna Zheila Pouraghabagher joined the company as co-owner a few months later.
“I kept thinking, ‘If I were a freshman in high school and the dance studio I had gone to since I was 3 or 4 was closing its doors, I would feel completely lost,’ Estrada recalled. “It was really important for (us) to stay consistent. As soon as American Dance closed its doors, we picked right up with the pace.”
CORE, whose name is an acronym for Creative Original Raw Energy, has doubled in size since then, Baumberger said, partially by adding dance classes. The company currently has 40 younger dancers, ranging in age from elementary school to high school, and about 15 adult dancers ages 18 to 40.
They’ll be joined this weekend by GRADS (Greatly Respected Adult Dancers), a group of seasoned tap dancers established by Jackson, and a handful of American Dance/CORE alumni.
The theme of the show is “Love…Dance …Shine.”
According to Baumberger, the diverse program features a mix of ballet, Broadway, jazz, hip-hop and tap dancing pieces by choreographers including CORE member Edgar Garcia, Civic Ballet of San Luis Obispo artistic director Drew Silvaggio and American Dance alumnus Wes Krukow, who’s currently studying dance at the University of Arizona.
Emmy Award-winning choreographer Suzy Miller set one cheeky number to “Steam Heat” from “The Pajama Game” and another to Toni Basil’s infectious pop song “Mickey.” The latter is a musical comedy piece about “cheerleaders gone kind of bad,” Baumberger said.
Estrada herself choreographed seven pieces, including the sassy jazz number “13 Men,” the lyrical dance piece “Mango Tree” and “Crash,” a contemporary jazz piece inspired by the popular Dave Matthews Band song “Crash into Me.”
The show’s exuberant finale, “Love Today,” is set to a song by British pop star Mika, who Estrada described as a “modern-day Freddie Mercury.”
“We always try to end the show on an up beat,” Estrada said. “It’s just a ‘thank you’ to the audience.”
A special tribute
This weekend’s “CORE: Rhythms” concert also features a special tribute to Pat Jackson in the form of two numbers: Miller’s “Love Child” and Rita Johnson’s “Stepping Out.”
According to Baum berger and Estrada, Jackson’s influence can be felt by multiple generations of dancers.
“She embraced individuality,” explained Estrada, who began dancing at American Dance at age 3.
“I feel like I had absolute one-on-one contact with her every week,” she said. “Everyone feels like they had that special relationship with her, because they did have that special relationship with her.”
Baumberger recalled Jackson’s passion for dance. Baumberger danced with American Dance from 1975 to 1980, becoming the company’s artistic director in 1997.
“It’s amazing that one person could have an impact like that,” Baumberger said. “It’s a ripple effect. We have to remember that all of us have that same ability to impact others.”
This story was originally published March 22, 2012 at 12:01 AM with the headline "A continuing legacy of dance."