Montgomery College’s dance company held their annual spring dance concert last weekend.The concert took place in the Robert E. Parillla Performing Arts Center on the Rockville campus. For some dancers this concert was their last dance event at Montgomery College.

The show is one of the major events for the dance company. For the dancers,  the show was much more to them on a personal and emotional aspect. “There were tears and a lot of emotion backstage today,” said Jacob Meile, a member of the dance company.

Cengiz Orhonlu, a dancer, said because it was the last show for several dancers, the rest of the company got motivated to do their absolute best.

“I think it totally boosted us. Because it’s their last show ever at MC and it’s also our last show for the spring semester, we all got together in memory of them and to honor them in some way. I think it really boosted the show and boosted the energy,” said Orhonlu.

According to Orhonlu, five dancers are graduating and two others will not return to the company.

Professor Gail Minor-Smith, coordinator of the dance company, said the show took several months of preparation. After holding auditions during the second week of spring semester, the company begins to hold its rehearsals.

“So we have auditions and then rehearsals start. There’s one two-hour rehearsal a week. For about ten weeks we have our rehearsal period. And then we move into the theater. And we spend a week in the theater figuring out how the show is going to run,” Minor-Smith said.

Minor-Smith also invited guest choreographers at the beginning of the process to help prepare the dancers.

The results of  the hard work and preparation impressed the audience. Barbara Berman, an audience member, said she enjoyed the variations in body shapes and how they created pictures. “I’m just appreciating how much beauty is being created,” Berman said.

Another audience member, Gwo Yang, said he felt that the show got better as it progressed. “It seems that with each act, the skill level goes up,” Yang said.

Yian Zhang, a dancer of the company, hoped that the audience left with the real impression of what it is to be a dancer. “Dance doesn’t always have to be pretty and that there always has to be meaning behind a dance,” said Zhang.