Allison Ramirez and Jean Paul (JP) Medina are a very young dance team. Oscar Calderon and Jorge Riascos are an adult dance team. Both pairs are finalists for Morristown ONSTAGE, a spectacular amateur talent show on Feb. 24, 2016, at the Mayo Performing Arts Center. The show is a major fundraiser for the Morris Educational Foundation.
By Rachel Prusso and Peggy Carroll
One team shows the experience of many years of learning and performing. Oscar and Jorge also have the distinction of being dancers who are construction workers.
The other team still is in elementary school. JP and Allison, ages 6 and 8, have the distinction of being the youngest ever to perform in Morristown’s talent show, now in its ninth year, say show organizers.
Both duos share a common language – they are fluent in Latin American dance. And both have the same instructor, Daniel Herrera Lasso, who teaches them at his Dreams Dance Studio in Morristown.
Allison and JP may be young, Herrera says, but they are extremely dedicated to their dancing. They are already seasoned performers. They have competed in Puerto Rico and Baltimore and young JP’s solo routine won third place at the World Salsa Championship in Miami.
Both began dancing when they were little more than toddlers; they became partners at the studio.
What attracted them, JP explains, was watching dancing on TV. “I thought how much fun it would be,” he says.
Wednesday, Feb. 24, 2016, at 7 pm
Fifteen Greater Morristown amateur acts compete for prizes and bragging rights
Tickets: $25-$75 at the Mayo Performing Arts Center, 973-539-8008
Proceeds benefit Morris School District programs
And they really like to travel and meet new people, the benefits package that comes with their skill in dancing.
The two practice a variety of Latin American dances but split their time onstage between the cha-cha and the salsa. JP performs solo, then Allison joins him.
Herrera says he tries to be “more of a kid” when teaching them, to be at their level while also respecting them as people. Like adults, they tire and get muscle pains, he admits, but that does not distract him because he knows they want to learn.
Oscar and Jorge have been dancing longer than the younger team has been on earth. Oscar at age 14, and Jorge at 16. They began dancing together two years ago in their native Colombia.
They work on construction jobs during the day and dance at the Dream Dreams Dance studio at night.
Dancing, says Oscar, 35, “makes people feel comfortable, feel happy, feel so free they forget everything.” Dancing connects them with each other – and with the audience.
Their dancing, he adds, is a way to reconnect with their native culture.
Yes, they are nervous on the stage, he said. “The moment a performer stops getting nervous,” he holds, “they no longer belong on stage.”
He describes the feeling as “butterflies” and a “hunger.”
Both partners say dancing is in their blood.
The pair specialize in Colombian salsa served up in a rapid-fire comic routine that they choreographed.
They say their inspiration – seen in their precise footwork and costumes – is Michael Jackson. In his image, they wear white suits with red accents, hats and shoes especially made by a Colombian company.
The teams have different goals should they win the prize ($1,000 for first-place winners in both the children’s and adult divisions). Oscar and Jorge will use the money to go to Miami for another competition.
JP and Allison have another goal. They would, they say, give the money to feed the hungry.
“People need food,” says JP, “and not everyone has it.”
That’s worthy of many cheers and clicks of the heels.
MORE COVERAGE OF MORRISTOWN ONSTAGE 2016
