The New Moves Children’s Dance Concert drew a small crowd—small in stature and in size. Countless children were seen skipping through the isles of McKenna Theater before the show began at 3 p.m.

The Nov. 23 show was the third installment of dance concerts featuring children from The Boys and Girls Club of San Francisco (BGCSF) and the Visitacion Valley Community Center. Each performance had its own personality, thanks to SF State dance students who choreographed the routines. This year’s program was dedicated to the late DeShawn Dawson, a 15-year-old Balboa High School student who was shot aboard a Muni bus on Nov. 6.

Dawson was a tutor at the BGCSF and the Willie L. Brown, Jr. Youth Center. Dawson, a bystander, was shot in the head when a fight started between passengers on the 29 Sunset line.

The anti-violence theme of the show was evident even before the stage was lit. Dance Professor Dr. Albirda Rose wrote “A note from Dr. Rose…” that lay in the inside cover of the program. Rose wrote, “When a child is killed in the Mission, Visitacion Valley, Bayview, Western Addition, we cannot be so naïve as to believe that it does not touch the hearts and souls of the children in Pacific Heights or Sunset.”

The show began with “Sweet Angels,” featuring six girls from BGCSF in white dresses that whirled as they danced. The audience clapped to the rhythm of Kurt Franklin’s “He Rains” as the girls mimicked falling rain with their fingers. After the girls twirled off stage, the audience erupted with applause, whistles and a couple of “all rights!”

Once the BGCSF girls were out of sight, girls from John McLaren Child Development Center took the stage. They wore all black except for the red and yellow sparkling ribbon skirts that fluttered as they danced to UB40’s cover of The Doors classic hit, “Light My Fire.”

Cristina Bell, a senior dance education major, helped choreograph “Fire.” Bell, who is trained to teach kids age four and up, said working with kids can be difficult sometimes.

“It’s a challenge because you have to get them to stand still long enough to listen to directions,” Bell said.

When the applause died down, the sound of a baby crying carried the audience into the next number. Allegra Bautista sat alone in a corner with her acoustic guitar. Bautista, a 9-year-old who has been playing guitar for five years, performed solos to songs by Cuban composer Leo Brower. Later in the program was “Irish Step Dance,” which featured a little girl whose golden ringlets bounced with every step.

Evora Parker, who went to the show to see her 6-year-old grandson, Billy, enjoyed the diversity in all the performances. “It’s interesting to see a lot of dances and cultures,” Parker said “My compliments to Dr. Rose—keep up the good work.” Parker said her grandson likes to dance and hopes that he’ll “take this and go further.”

Continuing with the diversity, a rap titled “Frisco’s Finest” followed the Irish jig. Josh Eberhardt, Martin Encinas and Reed Levitt, eighth-graders at Presidio Hill School, collaborated on this plea to end violence in San Francisco. This project started two weeks ago, when Levitt stayed home sick from school.

“It came to me when I was watching TV,” said 14-year-old Levitt. He read articles about Dawson’s death and was suddenly inspired to write. Levitt wrote his part, and the other two wrote theirs at Levitt’s birthday party. All was going well until the night of the performance. Though Encinas enjoyed himself, his first time on stage began with a rocky start.

“At first it was bad,” Encinas said of the performance, “My microphone wasn’t working.” Since Encinas’ part was after Eberhardt’s, the boys were able to switch mics.

Levitt’s part brought “Frisco’s Finest” to a close. It’s too late now: DeShawn’s family’s filled with grief/ So use words next time you gotta settle a beef.
Through all the talk of shootings in San Francisco, Eberhardt found his niche.
“I want to be a singer, a dancer, a producer and actor… everything in show business,” Eberhardt said.

According to Natalie Freitas, 27, who helped with the “Crazy” routine, working hard for one hour a week for 10 weeks really paid off.

“It went awesome,” said Freitas, who has a B.A. in dance and is pursuing teaching credentials. “It was amazing to see it all come together.”