Audience Reviews

AUDIENCE REVIEW: Dance Astoria summer festival

Company:
Dance Astoria

Performance Date:
June 22, 2025

Freeform Review:

On a Sunday afternoon, the Astoria community was treated to a performance by Dance Astoria. Produced by Astoria resident Nicole Ohr with committee members Alex Dombroski, Joan Liu, Alex Martin, and Bianca Megaro, Dance Astoria summer festival brings in choreographers, dancers, and educators together to have a great time! This year’s event was held at Bohemian Hall & Beer Garden indoor space (which was perfect planning as it turned out to be a hot rainy day that I, along with other audience members, were very glad to be indoors with air conditioning).

The show is divided into three acts and included a variety of dance forms. First act started with “Backstreet’s Back” by Astoria Dance Center choreographed by Adura Fryberger. Dancers wore bring pink and blue costumes dancing energetically. It was a great way to start the show bringing the energy up! Next up was an excerpt from “Soar. Glide. Flap.” by Axons Dance Theatre choreographed and danced by committee member Joan Liu. It was a gorgeous piece portraying the eagle, I really felt the majestic of the queen in this piece. Then, we were treated with the solo “Queen Bee” choreographed by Alyssa Archer and danced by Astoria Dance Center. This high energy solo showcased the dancer’s technique and charisma.  A Broadway-style piece “Shoeless Joe!” followed choreographed by Jill Moshman, bringing the crowd energy even higher. Just when you thought it can’t get better than this, Felipe Galganni’s “Movin’ and a Groovin’” featuring students of tap had audiences on their feet. Then, we had “Rise Up & Rock It" by Own it Dance Productions choreographed by Alana Averett and Janice Brooks, which was a fun hip-hop battle/jazz fusion. Closing the first act was another committee member piece choreographed by Alex Dombroski and danced by Alex herself, saxophone player Nick Dombroski, Brendan Kirsh, Bridget O’Connor and Claire Harmon. I especially enjoyed the mix of live music and recorded music.

Second act started with a personal story told through tap by none other than the producer herself, Nicole Ohr. This touching solo resonated with me even though I may not have had the same life story as Nicole, but it reminded me of how dance is universal. “Learn/unlearn” choreographed by Lindsey Garnhart and danced by Destiny Nguyen and Lindsey Garnhart explored relationships and levels; audience members were drawn to look inwards. “Thirst for Salt” followed choreographed and danced by the stunning Hailey Offing showing lots of emotions through her dancing. The second act continued with various beautiful pieces and ended with line dance led by Nicole Ohr and included the audience (highlight of Dance Astoria every year).

The third act was once again filled with exciting pieces. Notable were “Babel” choreographed and danced by Sofia Forero and Nicolas Fiery: their artistry brought the audience into a different world and provoked a depth of thinking in the audience. “La Dee Dah With You” choreographed and danced by Benjamin Levitt was another magical tap solo that exhibited extraordinary technique and innovation. Among third act were also belly dances by Asteria Dance Collective and group numbers performed by the senior company of MK Dance Company led by committee member Alex Martin. And of course, a Dance Astoria event would not be complete with some nice mingling at the end.

This year’s festival was filled with high-energy dances, lots of tap, and a good balance of classical dances. Bravo to Nicole Ohr, committee members, all the performers and choreographers for another great festival! It sure is the highlight of the summer! I look forward to the winter festival!

Author:
Xuan Yi