The Cerritos College 2011 Spring Dance Concert consisted of a variety of different styles and many colorful concerts this past weekend.

The Dance Concert took place at the Burnight Theatre Thursday, Friday, and Saturday night with a matinee on the same day.

The concert, complete with Latin, Bollywood, contemporary, jazz and hip hop, as well as many more styles, featured return performers like dance major Robert Albanez.

Albanez performed at his first Cerritos College dance concert in spring 2009 when he had a solo in two pieces.

He took to the stage in an opening number by dance instructor and choreographer Maha Afra, where he had a lead and a solo.

The concert offered a lot of first-time opportunities to students such as dance veteran Popy Saradeth, who danced in the ballet piece choreographed by Daniel Burney.

“I never though I’d be able to dance ballet on stage,” Saradeth said, “but my choreographer believed in me.”

He also choreographed his first group piece.

Dance major Andrew Tran, who is a returning performer in the concert, making this his second semester, did a Latin piece and performed in Saradeth’s hip-hop number.

“It felt very exciting,” Tran said, “because I never performed hip-hop before so it was something new.”

“He’s (Saradeth) a really nice person, but you have to listen to what he says; people goof off and it becomes annoying,” Tran said about working with Saradeth.

Saradeth mentioned that it wasn’t hard teaching others because he had experience teaching.

“I started teaching the steps to my dancers and it got easier because I have experience teaching.”

Child development major Juanita Reyes danced in the ballet and African pieces, as well as Saradeth’s hip-hop piece.

Reyes said, “It felt good because I got to expand, because I have been doing ballet for three years. But I wanted to try something different.”

She said that dancing in the hip-hop style for the first time presented new opportunities, as well as challenges.

“I have never danced in shoes before,” Reyes said, “it was different to me and I put so much energy into it and I’m a very energetic person.”

On working with Saradeth, she said, “The greatest thing of all is not only is he a choreographer, but he’s one of my close friends.

“He’s very inspiring and, out of all the dancers at Cerritos, I admire him the most.”

Reyes said they kept it on a professional level during rehearsal.

“I see him outside of the studio and in the studio.

“When I walk in the studio, I leave our friendship outside and it’s more of a professional thing.”